Representative Bruce Poliquin

Bruce Lee Poliquin (born November 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as a Representative from Maine in the United States Congress from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Maine’s 2nd congressional district for two terms, having first been elected in the 2014 general election. Earlier in his public career, he served as the 49th Maine State Treasurer from 2010 to 2012 and became a prominent Republican figure in Maine state and federal politics.

Poliquin was born in 1953 and grew up in Maine, where he developed ties to the state’s communities and economy that would later shape his political career. Before entering public office, he worked in business and finance, building a career as a businessman and investor. His private-sector experience informed his later emphasis on fiscal issues, economic development, and job creation when he entered state government and, subsequently, Congress.

In 2010 Poliquin sought the Maine Republican Party’s nomination for governor of Maine. He spent $711,000 of his own money on the campaign and finished sixth of the seven candidates in the Republican primary. Paul LePage won the nomination, and Poliquin endorsed him. Following LePage’s election as governor in November 2010, the Maine Legislature elected Poliquin as Maine State Treasurer, making him the state’s 49th treasurer. He served in that position from 2010 to 2012, overseeing state financial matters during a period of Republican control in Augusta. In 2012 he ran for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate, finishing second in the primary election. After leaving the treasurer’s office, he remained active in Republican politics and policy debates at both the state and national levels.

In August 2013 Poliquin announced that he would seek the Maine Republican Party’s nomination for the U.S. House seat in the 2nd congressional district. He won the 2014 Republican primary against former Maine Senate President Kevin Raye and advanced to the general election, where he faced Democratic state senator Emily Cain and independent retired Navy captain Blaine Richardson. In November 2014 he was elected to Congress with 47 percent of the vote, becoming the representative for Maine’s 2nd congressional district. He took office on January 3, 2015, at the start of the 114th Congress. Poliquin ran for reelection in 2016 and was included in the National Republican Congressional Committee’s Patriot Program, designed to help protect vulnerable Republican incumbents. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary and again faced Emily Cain in the November 8, 2016, general election, defeating her with 55 percent of the vote.

During his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019, Poliquin participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his largely rural and working-class constituents in Maine’s 2nd district. In January 2015 he voted for the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. On April 29, 2015, he introduced his first bill, the Child Support Assistance Act of 2015, co-sponsored with Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota. The legislation was intended to help single parents secure child support payments by making it harder for noncustodial parents to hide property or funds; it was ultimately incorporated into a transportation bill that passed Congress and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 4, 2015. On June 12, 2015, Poliquin voted against granting the president fast-track authority in negotiating trade agreements, arguing that Congress should be able to help shape such agreements. In September 2015 he was one of ten freshman Republican House members who signed a letter urging their party to avoid a government shutdown by passing a short-term spending bill shortly before federal agencies were slated to run out of money.

Poliquin’s legislative interests included economic development, trade, and regional issues affecting Maine. In April 2016 he joined Representative Chellie Pingree of Maine’s 1st district in proposing legislation to allow Cuban-bound flights to make technical stops at American airports for refueling and restocking, an effort aimed at preventing U.S. airports from losing business to Canadian competitors. He also worked with Representative Niki Tsongas of Massachusetts to advance legislative efforts begun under his Democratic predecessor, Mike Michaud, to require the U.S. Department of Defense to purchase U.S.-made sneakers, reflecting his support for domestic manufacturing and jobs. Poliquin opposed the creation of a national park or national monument in the Maine North Woods, calling for congressional hearings in the region and arguing that federal officials and non-local supporters were ignoring the concerns of local residents who opposed the proposal. He introduced a bill to limit the president’s authority under the Antiquities Act to declare national monuments. In Congress he was a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and the United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus. At the start of the 115th Congress in January 2017, he was the sole Republican representing a U.S. House district in New England, a status that drew national attention to his role as a New England Republican in an increasingly Democratic region.

Poliquin’s 2018 reelection campaign took place under Maine’s newly implemented ranked-choice voting system and drew significant regional and national scrutiny. The Boston Globe described him on February 10, 2018, as “the last of an endangered species” as a House Republican from New England, noting that his “fight against extinction” was “looking more dire,” with Democratic leaders seeking a complete sweep of New England House seats in the 2018 midterms. In the general election he faced Democratic state representative Jared Golden and independent candidates Tiffany Bond and Will Hoar. At an October debate Poliquin declined to commit to accepting the results of the ranked-choice election if he lost. On election night he led Golden by roughly 2,000 votes but fell short of a majority. Exit polls and subsequent analysis indicated that about 90 percent of the independents’ supporters ranked Golden as their second choice. After the ranked-choice tabulation of Bond’s and Hoar’s supporters’ second-choice votes, Golden defeated Poliquin by nearly 3,000 votes. It was the first time since 1916 that an incumbent had been unseated in Maine’s 2nd congressional district.

Following the 2018 election, Poliquin challenged the ranked-choice process and the conduct of the vote. On November 10, 2018, a campaign spokesperson raised concerns about the vote count, alleging that some ballot boxes lacked proper locks and that a Bangor polling clerk had counted ballots unmonitored, which the Maine press interpreted as an accusation of voter fraud. Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap characterized the claims as “a distraction” and cautioned the campaign against “irresponsible” attempts to slow the tabulation process or erode public confidence in the system. Poliquin claimed that the ranked-choice voting process was unconstitutional and declared himself the winner on the basis that he led after the initial tally. He filed suit seeking to be declared the winner and to have ranked-choice voting ruled unconstitutional. A federal judge denied his request to block the ranked-choice tabulation on November 15, 2018, and on December 13, 2018, rejected his lawsuit. Poliquin conceded the race to Golden on December 24, 2018, ending his service in Congress at the conclusion of the 115th Congress in January 2019.

Poliquin remained active in politics after leaving office. In a rematch of the 2018 race, he ran again in the 2022 election to represent Maine’s 2nd congressional district. In the Republican primary he faced Elizabeth Caruso, a wilderness guide and local government leader from the village of Caratunk. Caruso raised approximately $37,000 to Poliquin’s $2.2 million, and Poliquin won the primary with 60 percent of the vote. Some political analysts considered him a viable contender to reclaim the seat, but he consistently trailed Golden in public polling. In the November 2022 general election, conducted again under ranked-choice voting, Poliquin lost to Golden by a margin of 53 percent to 47 percent after the ranked-choice tabulation.