Donald Ardell, State Representative House District 6

09/12/2026

See you there!

Don't forget to strengthen your ties with other 2A enthusiasts at the shows. Most people are very friendly and happy to share their knowledge. (Others can be a little weird... but hey that's the spice of life!)

09/11/2026

Only a Democratic Socialist would take this position, somebody looking to pay with someone else's money. Many of Maine's applicants for admission at our ports of entry are 'health care tourists,' Canadians looking to pay out of their own pockets for medical treatments in the U.S. that have been denied them in Canada's socialist system, or for which the wait is just too long. Canadian treatment they ALREADY paid for in the form of 15% Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in New Brunswick. 'Ol Troy didn't mention that.

Similarly, the 2000's Oxycontin mess in Maine was in large part a result of Canadian healthcare handing them out like Halloween candy. People called oxys 'them back pills' because the Canadian 'health care' sytem was unable to spend the resources to actually fix the problem, but would mask the symptoms, chronic pain, with cheap, addictive painkillers. Troy didn't mention that, either.

Maine has been doing a very poor job of paying hospitals on time, and Medicaid/Mainecare doesn't reimburse for dental procedures at rates that dentists can even stay in business. We don't need more of that.

And then the Mainecare fraud: He's been awfully quiet about the epidemic of unattended public tax dollars up for grabs for every grifter, cheat, and swindler in Maine, many of which with foreign ties. Private health insurance companies at least keep a watchful eye on where the money goes.

On to solutions. Notice there's no talk of reducing Maine's energy costs or crippling tax burden to attract anchor industry to Maine, foundational employers that provide careers with benefits, including health insurance? Democratic Socialists' goal is to have more Mainers reliant on government, paid for by your tax dollars. Our goal is more self-reliance, a robust economy, and strong, vibrant Maine communities. Which do you want?

09/11/2026

As much as I hate to re-post lies and manipulative half-truths, I do it this time to educate. First, anti-dumping and countervailing (AD/CV) duties apply to foreign goods sold below fair market value that harm domestic industries, most commonly affecting metal, chemicals, wood, machine parts, and electronic products. These import duties are neither paid by the importer nor passed on to the consumer if the commodity is not imported. That's the point: tariffs disincentivize the import to purposefully incentivize purchase of domestic goods, protecting domestic industry and U.S. jobs. Additionally, imported Canadian forest products are already subject to robust 35-45% Anti-Dumping Duty and Countervailing Duties, trade tools the United States uses to offset unfair low pricing and/or foreign government subsidies on imported timber and lumber. This is not new: U.S. Dept. of Commerce has determined Canadian government subsidies on timber products, or access to logging on public land, unfairly undermine free-market U.S. products. For example: https://www.trade.gov/press-release/commerce-department-announces-final-results-softwood-lumber-canada-countervailing
and
https://www.cbp.gov/trade/priority-issues/adcvd/antidumping-and-countervailing-duties-adcvd-frequently-asked-questions

Maine's Democrats need either smarter economists or honest messaging. Or both. What they're doing is backfiring: They're getting KILLED in the comments. 🤷🏻

09/11/2026

Twenty-five years ago today, American life changed. With four commercial flights aimed at three targets, nineteen terrorists from four countries committed the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil, resulting in the tragic deaths of 2,977 non-combatant victims.

Often overlooked is that all these foreign-national terrorists were non-immigrant aliens admitted to the U.S. Four of them were out of their status of admission and eligible for arrest and removal proceedings. This highlighted systemic weaknesses in the screening of visa applicants, the tracking of temporary visa compliance, and the absence of an integrated entry-exit system at our borders.

Those systemic weaknesses were addressed by many agencies, but most prominently by Department of Homeland Security front-line agencies like CBP, CIS, and ICE to protect our coutry and address aliens whose applications for admission are suspicious, have employed fraud to gain visas or remain in the U.S., or who have overstayed or violated their terms of admission.

In the interim, however, some of September 11th's lessons appear to have been forgotten, both by the previous presdential administration and even by some Americans.

Today I ask two things: First, that we remember our fallen, and the families that lost loved ones. I also ask we expect the very best from The People's government at all levels, including faithful enforcement of our immigration laws.

09/10/2026

That thing they said didn't happen? It happened again.

An illegal alien has been arrested for voting in the 2024 election. It's time to pass the SAVE America Act and secure our elections.

09/10/2026

09/10/2026

Jantzen Craine is running for State Representative for House District 7, which includes Houlton, Linneus, Ludlow, New Limerick, and Oakfield. I am confident he will represent District 7 with thoughtfulness and integrity, and I invite you to look into his candidacy, and support him. Thank you!

Accountability shouldn’t end on Election Day.

One of the frustrations I hear repeatedly is that politicians make promises during campaign season, get elected, and then voters hear from them again when it’s time for another election.

I don’t think representative government is supposed to work that way.

A State Representative casts hundreds of votes that affect taxes, spending, energy, education, businesses, and individual rights. The people back home should be able to know what their representative is doing—and why.

That means reading legislation before voting on it. Asking what it costs and who pays for it. Questioning spending instead of automatically approving it. Being willing to vote against your own party when principle or the interests of your district require it. And being accessible enough that constituents can ask questions and get a straight answer.

It also means admitting when you get something wrong.

I’ve tried to approach local government that way, and it’s the same standard I would bring to Augusta.

I won’t promise that I can single-handedly fix state government. No representative can. What I can promise is that I’ll take seriously the authority entrusted to me, explain my decisions, and remember that the seat belongs to the people of District 7—not the person temporarily occupying it.

Government accountability starts with representatives who remember who they work for.

09/08/2026

He's going to be a great Congressional Representative. 🇺🇸

It was great to attend the Sportman’s Alliance of Maine banquet on Saturday night! Thank you for the warm reception. I have always been a defender of our outdoor heritage and our Second Amendment, and that won’t change in Congress.

09/07/2026

Below are photos of Troy Jackson in 'action,' but not as he wants you to see him: Not in the woods as some kind of 'everyman', but as Maine's Senate President. Photos of the legislative career his campaign is trying to conceal under the veneer of 'Maine logger.'

His appeal to Mainers about tough economic times never comes with the fact that 20 of the last 23 years he was a Maine Legislator, with six years as Maine's Senate President, crafting the very policy that put Maine in the mess it is today: sky-high electric bills, hostile to good employers, needles in our streets and record drug abuse, a permissive criminal justice system, and plummeting school performance. All with the 5th highest tax burden in America.

We're paying for it. All of it.

Now selected as Graham Platner's designated replacement, Jackson has to try to keep up Platner's momentum as some kind of 'hard-working political outsider.' But Jackson is no outsider: His two decades of power in the Maine Legislature created the very tough economic times he complains about.

He's a political insider, and not a solution to any of the problems. He's the one who had 20 years in office to make them.