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Candidates › ME-02 race › 2025–2026
Paige Loud
DemocraticU.S. House, ME-02Maine
Has not served in Congress
- On the ballot
- Lost the Democratic primaryJun 9, 2026 · 7,150 votes (10.3%) · 4 of 4 · count stopped at 73% reporting · Matthew Dunlap is on the November ballot
- Where to vote
- Find your polling place (opens in a new tab) · More ways to vote
- Top priorities
- A healthy America starts with the basics
- Priorities for our future.
- issues that matter, policies that make a difference
- Universal Healthcare
- Housing
- Money
- $61.9K raised, $58.9K spent, $3K cash on hand (through Sep 30, 2026). Where it comes from
- Who gives
- 53% of individual money from donors at $200 or less · 43% from Maine · largest committee giver FUTURE DEMOCRATS PAC, $2.5K
26 priorities from loudforcongress.com, in the order they are listed there. Every heading and the text under it is copied exactly, as one passage for each page it is from, and links to that place on the page; hover a source to see which passage it opens.
healthcare you can access, food you can afford, and systems that support people instead of draining them. Right now, too many families are forced into impossible choices; between rent and treatment, groceries and medication, survival and dignity. That’s not accidental. It’s the result of policy choices that put profit over people.
Universal healthcare as a human right.
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My mom worked long hours and still had to rely on SNAP to keep us fed. That experience shaped how I see our economy; it isn’t broken because people aren’t working hard enough, it’s broken because it’s been rigged for the wealthy few. I will fight to raise the federal minimum wage and permanently tie it to inflation, so working families aren’t forced further behind every year. Teachers, nurses, and caregivers shouldn’t pay higher effective tax rates than billionaires, and I will fight to make the wealthiest corporations and individuals finally pay their fair share by closing loopholes and increasing corporate taxes.
Workers deserves the right to organize and earn a living wage, I will fight to restore balance by strengthening workers’ rights to unionize and holding corporations accountable when they engage in union-busting. Caring for children, seniors, and people with disabilities is essential labor, yet it has been undervalued for far too long. I will fight for fair pay, benefits, and dignity for professional and family caregivers, and for federal investments that ensure caregiver wages rise instead of being absorbed by corporate profit.
Anyone should be able to start and grow a business and build wealth in their own community. I will fight to expand access to capital for small businesses, simplify SBA loans, and ensure federal grants, tax incentives, and contracts prioritize local, unionized, and community-owned businesses, so public dollars stay local and work for Maine people.
I believe our economy should work for the people who keep it running. And in Congress, that’s exactly what I’ll fight for.
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My mom had to rely on SNAP to keep us fed even after working long hours. People who work should be able to afford to live. Right now, teachers, nurses, and caregivers pay higher effective tax rates than billionaires. We need an economy built for everyone, not the wealthy few.
What I’ll Fight For in the Senate
Raising the federal minimum wage: One job should be enough. Americans deserve a living wage at a $25/hour baseline and we must permanently tie the minimum wage to inflation to prevent the disparities we have today. An economy that works for us isn’t just about creating more jobs, but also good jobs.
Protecting and expanding workers’ rights to organize and earn a living wage: Corporations have stacked the deck against working people for decades, and it’s time to restore balance. Congress must pass the PRO Act to strengthen the right to unionize and penalize corporations that engage in union-busting.
Making the wealthiest corporations and individuals pay their fair share: Our tax code rewards wealth over work, and that has to change. I support taxing inheritance over $1 million like ordinary income and imposing a progressive tax on wealth held by trusts. We must increase the high earner and corporate tax rate to New Deal levels and enact a wealth tax on fortunes over $50 million to fund critical investments in communities and close loopholes that allow the ultra-wealthy to avoid paying taxes, such as the carried-interest loophole, buy-borrow-die, and preferential capital gains treatment.
Eliminating the Social Security income cap: Currently, only the first $184,500 of income is taxed to pay for Social Security. That means someone making $50,000 like me pays Social Security taxes on every dollar, while a multimillion-dollar earner pays on only a small share of their income. Eliminating the cap strengthen Social Security and Medicare by ensuring rich high earners contribute at the same rate as everyone else.
Recognizing and compensating the essential labor of caregivers: The work of caring for children, seniors, and people with disabilities is real work that deserves fair pay and dignity. I’ll push for a federal program that guarantees a living wage and benefits for professional and family caregivers, paid for by increasing Medicaid funding to states and requiring a greater share to be directed toward boosting caregiver compensation. Caregiver care is Public care.
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True leadership means standing with people and using our power to reduce suffering, prevent violence, and protect human dignity. I reject the idea that strength comes from endless war, occupation, and genocide. Across the world, we are witnessing a dangerous rise in authoritarianism, political violence, and the erosion of basic human rights. Too often, U.S. foreign policy has responded not with courage or consistency, but with militarism, hypocrisy, and silence in the face of atrocities.
My commitment is to human rights, sovereignty, and self-determination everywhere — from Palestine to Iran, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Greenland. I will stand with people fighting to retain control over their own futures. I will fight for transparency and accountability so our money stops bombing children and starts feeding, housing, and caring for them, here and everywhere.
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True leadership means standing with people and using our influence to reduce suffering, prevent violence, and uphold human dignity. I reject the idea that strength comes from endless war and genocide. Across the world, we are witnessing a dangerous rise in fascism, political violence, and the erosion of human rights. Too often, U.S. foreign policy has responded to this moment with militarism, hypocrisy, and silence in the face of human rights abuses.
What I’ll Fight For in the Senate
Immediate re-investment in foreign aid, including UNRWA: Failing to tackle health and humanitarian threats abroad can quickly lead to local threats. International cooperation on global threats such as global pandemics and climate change is for own our own safety and prosperity.
An end to the genocide in Gaza: I am disgusted by the genocide, dispossession, and ethnic cleansing that Israel has carried out since the Nakba on the Palestinian people with US bombs, surveillance, and money. I support the immediate enforcement of the Leahy Law, blocking all weapons transfers to Israel, to ensure an immediate, real, and permanent ceasefire. I will fight for the full restoration of humanitarian aid, ending the siege on the Gaza Strip, and immediate relief for those suffering under famine, torture, and bombings. Peace cannot exist without justice. I believe what is needed for permanent peace and justice in the region is to end the system of apartheid in the West Bank, demand the right of return for Palestinian refugees, establish truth and reconciliation commissions, and ensure the formation of one, democratic, secular, multi-ethnic state with equal rights, dignity, and safety for all in the original boundaries of Palestine.
Ending dangerous and unnecessary military engagements like the War on Iran: I grew up watching the government spend billions on foreign wars while nickel and diming my family when it came to SNAP and healthcare. Wars that only ever destabilized the countries they were in. As we see a new rise in US militarism, I support peace through diplomacy, not occupation or bombs. The American and Israeli strikes on Iran are unacceptable. We cannot bomb our way to peace; this is reckless, dangerous, and shameful. Democracy and freedom will never come from bombs and the blood of children.
Ending the illegal blockade and siege of Cuba: In no uncertain terms, I condemn the illegal and unjust decades-long blockade and sanctions of Cuba. I agree with the UN that the US must end its siege now and allow Cuba to reintegrate into the global community so that their people can have access to food and fuel and their advancements in medicine can be shared freely with the rest of the world. I stand in complete opposition to any attempt by Trump or Rubio to invade the island or escalate the siege.
End blank-check funding to foreign militaries: We must prioritize our spending on improving access to healthcare, and education here at home rather than fund foreign military objectives, including Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, the AUE, and other.
Upholding human rights, sovereignty, and self-determination: From Palestine, to Sudan, to Congo, to Ukraine, to Venezuela, to Iran, to Greenland, I will fight for people’s human rights and their right to retain their sovereignty and self-determination free from intervention by rogue actors like Trump, Putin, the UAE, and Israel. Genocide and aggression is wrong everywhere.
Transparency and accountability in spending: If our tax dollars are being sent abroad instead of staying at home, it better be for a damn good reason.. I will fight to ensure that no more of our tax dollars go to bombing children instead of feeding, treating, and housing them.
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Our broken system is the result of intentional policy choices that benefit a wealthy few. In Congress, I will advance a vision of America that is grounded in the ideal that all receive the basic necessities to pursue their individual happiness.
I’m running to secure food, housing, and healthcare as the rights that they are. I’m running to build a country that treats people with dignity, care, and respect - and I’ll be honest about what it takes to get there. Below is a guide to the foundation of this campaign and what my candidacy will factor into every decision - because we deserve leaders we can trust.
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Medical costs are crushing working families. When I worked in hospice and with people with disabilities, I saw families forced to make the impossible choice between rent and treatment. In the United States, the wealthiest country in the world, families lose loved ones to a system that puts profit over people. Health care should be simple: you get sick, you get care.
What I’ll Fight For in the Senate
Passing Medicare-for-All to guarantee healthcare as a human right: Your ability to get care will depend on your need, not your wealth. I will introduce and cosponsor legislation to create a single-payer, Medicare-for-All system that will include full coverage for medical, dental, vision, mental health, and long-term care. We will fund this by finally making the wealthiest Americans and the largest corporations pay their fair share.
Reinvestment in Public Health: It is time to reinvest in our institutions of health such as the FDA, DHHS, and CDC. We must increase support, oversight and funding for local and state health departments to meet the needs of their communities to ensure a safe, and healthy America for al
Rebuilding and funding community health infrastructure: Congress must break from its history of neglect of rural communities. I will push for major federal investment to build and sustain public hospitals and community health centers in underserved rural and urban areas. Additionally, we must expand telehealth services and ensure high-speed internet access so that distance is no longer a barrier to quality care.
Taking on pharmaceutical corporations to make medicine affordable: The high price of life-saving drugs like insulin is a direct result of corporate greed enabled by bad policy. Congress must cap the monthly cost of insulin alongside other essential medicines, because no one should ration their lifesaving medication. Medicare should be authorized to negotiate drug prices for all Americans and allow the importation of safe prescription drugs from other countries. I support public manufacturing of essential medications such as insulin, and will fight the practice of drug patents and pharmacy benefit managers.
Empower the FTC to break up monopolies: Hospital mergers and acquisitions are leaving Americans with fewer places to get care and less workers to provide it. I support the Break Up Big Medicine Act, which will empower the FTC to retrospectively review and break up these monopolies.
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I have been a renter my entire adult life, and my family knows the insecurity of not having a stable home. Today, as corporate investors buy up housing stock, the dream of homeownership is moving out of reach for too many Mainers. With over 2,000 people in Maine alone experiencing homelessness, we need a federal commitment to ensure housing is treated as a human right, not a luxury.
What I’ll Fight For in the Senate
Launching a historic investment in building affordable housing to tackle the root causes of this crisis: We must dramatically increase the supply of quality, permanently affordable homes to meet the needs of our communities. I will support the Homes for All Act to invest $800 billion in the construction of 8.5 million publicly owned, affordable homes across the nation. We also need to expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and provide direct grants to non-profit developers to build and preserve affordable units.
Preventing evictions and providing emergency housing stability to keep families in their homes: Evictions are traumatic events that destabilize families and communities, so we must provide a robust safety net. I plan to permanently fund emergency rental assistance programs to help families facing crises, such as medical emergencies or job losses, and to enact a national right to counsel in housing court to guarantee tenants' representation against predatory landlords and corporate evictions.
Building a skilled construction workforce to meet the demand for new housing: We cannot build the homes we need without supporting the workers who build them. We must significantly expand federal funding for construction apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeship programs, with a focus on creating pathways in rural areas. I also plan to create federal grant programs that prioritize projects that pay prevailing wages and utilize registered apprenticeship programs to ensure high-quality jobs.
Curbing the power of corporate landlords and speculators to protect our community: The financialization of housing by private equity firms drives up costs and displaces longtime residents. It’s time to impose a federal tax on corporate and private equity owners of single-family homes to discourage speculative hoarding of housing. We must also pass the Strengthen the Community Reinvestment Act to pressure banks to invest in affordable housing development in the communities they are meant to serve.
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As a social worker, I’ve seen how food insecurity traps people in a state of survival. Older adults choose between groceries and medication. Families live in constant crisis mode. Children suffer poor health outcomes.
Too often, farmers struggle to stay afloat while their own communities can’t access or afford fresh, healthy food. Maine has extensive farmland, fishing communities, and generations of agricultural knowledge, and food security means connecting Maine farmers to Maine families, treating eating like the critical function it is.
What I’ll Fight For in the Senate
Strengthening food access: Food security means connecting Maine farmers to Maine families. I will fight for federal investments that strengthen local and regional food systems to support food hubs, cooperatives, and distribution networks, and make it easier for schools, hospitals, and communities to buy local food. It also means ensuring massive chains that have bought up local grocers are held accountable. Until we can bring back local grocery stores, I will support an end to price gouging on staple groceries, so mega-corporations making massive profits can’t gouge us further.
Expanding nutrition programs with dignity: Nutrition assistance works when it is fully funded and treated with respect. Hunger is not a moral failing - assistance should come with dignity, not judgment. I support expanding SNAP and protecting it from future cuts and increasing public funding for food banks and emergency food providers. I’ll also push for federally funded school meals so no child goes hungry or feels singled out.
Food security as public infrastructure: Food is as essential as roads, housing, and healthcare. I believe the federal government must treat food security as critical infrastructure by investing in nationwide grocery access and transportation and eliminating food deserts.
Bold, long-term solutions: To truly end hunger, we must think bigger. This country needs stronger antitrust enforcements in agriculture and food retail to ensure fair pricing and protections for farmers and food workers. And as the richest country in the world, the country needs to follow Maine’s example in recognizing food as a federal basic human right.
Service means government exists to meet basic human needs - healthcare, food, safety, and care across the lifespan.
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Corruption and corporate capture hit rural states harder. When regulators protect industries instead of people, and when public money becomes private profit, Mainers pay the price. It’s why healthcare costs stay high, housing remains out of reach, climate action stalls, and wages stagnate while corporate profits soar.
What I’ll Fight For in the Senate
Dismantling corporate monopoly power: The excessive consolidation of companies in the American economy harms both workers and consumers. We must break up monopolies in finance, tech, agriculture, and healthcare, prohibit predatory interest rates and fees on credit cards, student loans, and other consumer debt, and refuse future “too big to fail” bailouts to ensure reckless financial institutions face market consequences without public subsidy.
Supporting small businesses in Maine: Small businesses need fair rules and a government that has their back. Congress needs to simplify and streamline SBA loan applications and expand access to capital to support rural and first-time entrepreneurs.
Funding federal grants and tax incentives: Federal money must reach small-scale, community-owned manufacturing and retail, and we should prioritize local and unionized businesses for federal contracting and infrastructure projects.
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Public education is how we build opportunity, protect democracy, and prepare the next generation. Public taxpayer dollars should stay in public schools, which are accountable to communities, open to every child, and subject to transparency laws. From pre-K to university, every student, educator, and family should have the support they deserve.
What I’ll Fight For in the Senate
Invest in Universal Childcare: In Maine, the average cost of childcare is around $1,000 a month per child. Even for those who can afford it, there aren't enough spots, and the waitlists are long. This insane cost and stress should not hurt so many families.
Childcare is so expensive in Maine because, for decades, the federal government has refused to invest in it. In Congress, I promise to fight for legislation that provides universal childcare to every American. I will fight for federal investment to recruit new childcare workers, ensure that childcare is accessible in rural areas, and pay childcare workers as the hardworking professionals they are.
Massive investment in school infrastructure: Schools are community spaces that are critical to the safety and security of our children. Local budgets do not allow for the repairs that our crumbling school buildings need to survive.
Better pay, protection, and respect for teachers: Taking care of our kids means taking care of their educators. I will fight for a federal minimum salary of $60,000 for public school teachers and stronger federal protections against harassment, threats, and violence.
Invest in wraparound services: Ensuring our kids have access to services such as nurses, social workers, psychologists and behavioral health specialists are critical to ensuring a healthy and productive learning environment.
Fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Affordable, accessible, and academically free higher education: Millions of people are crippled with student loan debt, and millions more will be in the future. Together, we can cancel all federal student loan debt and make all public universities and trade schools tuition-free.
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Clean water and protected land are not abstract environmental issues in Maine; they are the backbone of our health, economy, and way of life. From rural wells to coastal fisheries, when federal protections are weakened, Mainers pay the price. Polluted waterways threaten drinking water, destroy livelihoods in fishing, farming, and forestry, and leave communities on the hook for cleanup while polluters walk away. In a state already facing climate impacts, weakened safeguards put our future at risk.
What I’ll Fight For in the Senate
Protecting and strengthening the Clean Water Act:
Defend the Clean Water Act by grounding federal policy in science and restoring a clear, evidence-based definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS). The 2015 Clean Water Rule provides a strong foundation for protecting wetlands, streams, and headwaters that are essential to clean drinking water and healthy ecosystems across Maine.
Protecting Maine’s water, land, and working ecosystems:
Safeguard wetlands, rivers, lakes, and coastal waters that sustain fishing, farming, forestry, and tourism. Hold polluters accountable for contamination and cleanup, and ensure enforcement protects communities.
Invest in renewable energy:
Push for massive federal investment in solar, wind, and nuclear. Prioritize a modernized smart grid and energy efficient upgrades to help Mainers save money. This must be done with union jobs - we can solve the climate crisis, and provide reliable affordable power all while rebuilding the middle class.
Investing in clean water, climate resilience, and future generations:
Ensure every Mainer has access to safe, affordable drinking water by investing in infrastructure and climate resilience. Prepare rural and coastal communities for flooding, warming waters, and other climate impacts already affecting Maine, so we protect both today’s livelihoods and tomorrow’s future.
Hold corporate polluters accountable:
Empower federal agencies to stop corporate polluters before they cause harm in the first place. Strengthen air quality standards, and codifying the Endangerment Finding into law, so we can ensure future administrations cannot stop the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases.
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Transportation and infrastructure are about more than roads and bridges; they are about freedom, safety, and whether people can fully participate in their communities. When infrastructure fails, so does healthcare access, economic opportunity, climate resilience, and public safety. Across this country, we are driving on crumbling roads, crossing unsafe bridges, and relying on water systems long past their intended lifespan. Meanwhile, Washington continues to underinvest and propose cuts while communities are left to fend for themselves.
What I’ll Fight For in the Senate
Fixing it first: Maintenance is not glamorous, but it saves lives and money. We don’t just need more ribbon cuttings; we need infrastructure that works. I will fight to prioritize repair and maintenance of existing roads, bridges, and water systems.
Public transit that actually serves people: Transit is freedom, especially in rural states; it should be usable, affordable, and dependable. I will fight to expand federal funding for public transit operations and invest in rural and regional transit systems that connect people to jobs, healthcare, and services.
Infrastructure for a changing climate: We can protect communities, reduce emissions, and create good-paying jobs at the same time. I support a climate-resilient power grid and infrastructure designed to withstand flooding, storms, and extreme temperatures, as well as investments in clean transportation.
Expanding access to high-speed internet: Access to the internet is essential infrastructure. No student, worker, or patient should be locked out of opportunity because of where they live. I also support restoring net neutrality protections, because the internet must be a place where everyone has equal access to information.
Change happens through human relationships and connection - between services, land, and opportunity.
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Aging with dignity should be a guarantee, not a privilege reserved for the wealthy. After a lifetime of work, people deserve security, stability, and respect. That promise has been embodied in Social Security, Medicare, and the systems meant to support us as we age. Today, that promise is under threat.
Washington is pushing cuts, privatization schemes, and so-called “reforms” that would dismantle Social Security and weaken Medicare. Let’s be clear: any cut to Social Security is unacceptable. These benefits are earned. Mainers paid into them, and they deserve to rely on them.
What I’ll Fight For in the Senate
No cuts, no privatization: Social Security is a promise made to people who worked hard and paid in. I will oppose any attempt to cut, privatize, or weaken Social Security.
Expanding Social Security to meet real costs: We must increase Social Security benefits so people can actually keep up with housing, food, and healthcare costs. This will be accomplished by updating cost-of-living adjustments annually based on actual expenses.
Caregiving, aging in place, and safe long-term care: Too many people are forced into institutions because home-based care isn’t available or affordable. I will fight to ensure that stay-at-home parents and caregivers earn Social Security credits and protect people who leave the workforce to care for family members.
Medicare, prescription drugs, and health security: Healthcare costs should never erase a lifetime of work. Until M4A, we must expand Medicare to include vision, dental, and hearing. I will fight for the federal government to negotiate drug prices down and end exploitative plans like Medicare Advantage that profit by restricting care.
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If we can fund war, we can fund care. Veterans did what this country asked of them. They trained, deployed, endured trauma, and risked their lives, often in wars that never made their communities safer. When they came home, too many were met with delays, denials, understaffing, and excuses. Their treatment is indicative of the American prioritization of war profiteering over humanity.
What I’ll Fight For in the Senate
Providing comprehensive healthcare to veterans: Every person deserves access to all types of care, and our nation has the capacity to provide it. We must have free and complete coverage through the VA, including medical, mental health, dental, vision, assisted living, and long-term care.
Ending veteran homelessness: It is sickening that service members are left on the streets by the state that sent them to war zones.
Helping veterans get back on their feet: I support modernizing the GI Bill for a modern economy. We need to increase Funding for job training and apprenticeships while reinstating federal jobs for veterans laid off by the Trump administration with back pay and benefits.
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