The man describing himself as the "youngest Congressional candidate in the country" formally kicked off his campaign today to unseat Maine's 1st District incumbent, Democrat Chellie Pingree.
Isaac Misiuk is a 25-year-old father of one from Gorham and part-time political science student at the University of Southern Maine. For now though his college career is on hold as he pursues his political ambition.
"If elected I will work to reduce spending and balance the budget, in turn creating a more prosperous economy for future generations," he says.
Misiuk received the GOP nomination in an uncontested primary on Tuesday.
Talking to journalists in Portland Thursday morning, Misiuk stressed his youth as a positive factor and said he was undaunted by the challenge of taking on Pingree.
"With the best of intentions members of Congress have proposed and voted on bills and initiatives that seek to solve the pressing problems of our time," he says. "However, when I listen to the rhetoric I am always left with the same question: who is going to pay for it? And the answer is always the same — the youth. If Congress is going to decide to stick us with the bill, we at least deserve a seat at the table."
Misiuk went on to describe the plight of America's youth as being akin to "taxation without representation."
He also criticized opponent Chellie Pingree for being out-of-touch because of her extreme personal wealth, and for working to increase the size of the government.
Misiuk says he was inspired to run for office after seeing first-hand the problems faced by his generation, including crippling student debt and nonexistent job opportunities.
"I will work to shrink the size of government and allow states to govern themselves without the overreach of the federal government," he says.
Before enrolling in college two years ago, Misiuk spent five years working in retail sales and real estate after graduating from high school in 2007.
"He's very energetic, he knows what's ahead of him, he knows it's an uphill battle, but he's willing to do it," says 22-year-old Tyler Kinney of Gorham, Misiuk's stepbrother and a strong supporter.
He says Misiuk deserves credit for taking on the challenge of competing in the 1st District, which has not been represented by a Republican since 1997.
"Nobody was standing up I believe in the Republican Party, and I'm glad that Isaac stood up and said 'I'm willing to take the task on,'" Kinney says.
USM political science professor Ron Schmidt — who has taught Misiuk in the past — agrees that he's doing a service for the state GOP in taking on the formidable task of task of trying to unseat a strong incumbent like Pingree.
"You don't want to let a race go by without mounting any kind of challenge at all," Schmidt says. "As a young man starting out in state politics, I think it's a good decision."
Schmidt remembers Misiuk as an energetic participant in student politics who helped revive the USM college Republican Party.
Schmidt says while Misiuk will likely lose the battle against Pingree, there are positives that could emerge.
"One is the degree to which his youth and the somewhat quixotic aspects of his candidacy, being newsworthy, could draw more attention to the party," he says "And we're looking at what's going to be a very close governor's race, we're looking at some important state legislative races. Any attention that draws people toward the political process is a potential advantage for either of the parties."
Misiuk currently has no support from any of the large special interest groups that would traditionally get behind more high-profile GOP candidates — groups such as the NRA, the U.S. Chamber Commerce and Freedomworks — and Schmidt expects this will remain the case.