Editor’s note: This is the first of two profiles of the Republican candidates competing in the June 12 primary for the 1st Congressional District seat. The winner will face Democrat incumbent Chellie Pingree in the November election.

Patrick Calder is young for a congressional candidate, but he sees that as an advantage.

Additional Photos

Patrick Calder ALL

At 29, the political newcomer has his sights set on Washington, where he wants to be a voice for the working people in Maine’s 1st Congressional District.

“I think we need to look at new, novel and creative approaches to looking at (the country’s) problems, and that’s what I bring to the table,” he said. “I think I’m unique and I think I’d be an excellent congressman because I am not ingrained into the political establishment.”

Calder, a merchant mariner from Portland, and Senate Majority Leader Jonathan Courtney, R-Springvale, are running for the 1st District nomination in next week’s Republican primary.

The winner will face incumbent Democrat Chellie Pingree in the general election in November.

It is Calder’s second run for public office. He ran and lost against Democrat Peter Stuckey in House District 114 in 2010.

“Most of all what I took away from it, and what I’ve carried into this campaign, is the enjoyment and the satisfaction that comes just from being out and talking to people and seeing what’s on their minds and hearing what they have to say,” he said. “I’m finding there are a lot more people than just me who think we’re on the wrong track and we need to do something about it.”

Calder said, over and over, he sees people who need the government’s attention.

“I feel very privileged to be in a position now where I’m able to give a voice to a lot of these people who are the silent majority in American politics: the people who quietly pay their bills and just follow the rules and yet are not getting a fair shake,” he said.

Calder grew up in Eastport, where his father worked as a sea captain and his mother is a longshoreman. After graduating from Eastport’s Shead High School in 2000, he followed his father and went to Massachusetts Maritime Academy. He was active in student government before graduating in 2004 with a degree in marine engineering.

Calder lived out of state for a few years, traveling nationally and internationally as a merchant mariner and marine engineer. Two years ago, he decided to settle in Portland and commute to Hawaii, where he is first engineer on The Pride of America, the only American-flagged cruise ship.

He is responsible for the day-to-day maintenance and operation of the ship’s engineering plant, supervising 30 people. The ship carries 2,500 passengers and 900 crew members.

Calder loves his job, but he is willing to give it up to serve in Congress.

“It wasn’t until I got out of college and became a taxpaying member of the work force that things really started to hit home,” he said. “I’d almost be a little bit embarrassed to have kids now and say to them, ‘All right, this is the country we’re giving you. This is the country you have to look forward to.’ It’s not what we were led up to believe this country would be.”

Calder, a social moderate, said Congress must consider ending foreign aid and examine entitlement programs, like Medicare and Social Security, for ways to cut spending.

“The single most important thing to do is start realizing that if the government tries to be everything for everybody, in the end they won’t be able to do anything for anyone,” he said.

Barbara Campbell Harvey of Portland works on the campaign and knows Calder through his role as chairman of the Portland Republican City Committee. Despite his lack of experience in elective office, she is confident of his leadership skills.

“His youth is a positive in that he is representing a younger generation with a different point of view. He’s not a career politician,” she said.

Matthew Boucher, Calder’s campaign manager, agrees.

“I believe he’s going to bring representation from our generation,” he said. “The Republican Party keeps running the same middle-aged, white male candidates over and over again. I feel it’s time we run something different and see what happens.”

Ron Schmidt, an associate professor of political science at the University of Southern Maine, said Calder has some big challenges to overcome — especially if he wins the GOP nomination and faces Pingree in the general election.

“The name recognition and resources incumbents can draw on are difficult to match,” he said.

Schmidt said Calder appears to be positioning himself to run as a Washington outsider with fresh ideas, a tactic that Schmidt thinks would typically be more effective in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.

“The kind of race that Calder has put himself in is a hard one to win, but you never know what is going to happen politically,” Schmidt said. “It’s very difficult to do what Patrick Calder has set out to do. It’s a steep uphill fight.”

Even if Calder doesn’t win the nomination, the race could help his political career, Schmidt said.

“This is a high-profile campaign, so even if Calder loses, it will bring him some name recognition,” he said. “That could position him well in a later campaign.”

BIOGRAPHY

PARTY: Republican

AGE: 29

HOME: Portland

FAMILY: Single

EDUCATION: 2004 graduate of Massachusetts Maritime Academy with degree in marine engineering

OCCUPATION: First engineer of The Pride of America, the only American-flagged cruise ship

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: None

ON THE ISSUES

Do you support President Obama’s health care law? No

Do you support a balanced budget amendment? Yes

Would you support a tax increase for the wealthy? No

Would you vote to extend the nation’s debt limit? No

Do you support legalizing gay marriage? No

Do you support legal access to abortion? Yes

What should Congress be doing to create jobs and improve the economy?

“The best thing Congress can do is to remove the barriers that currently exist at the federal level toward job creation and economic growth. This includes reducing and simplifying the tax code, reducing costs of energy and health care, and reducing unnecessary red tape that leads to uncertainty in the private sector. Together, these steps will drastically decrease the overhead costs of small business and allow more capital to be devoted to hiring more employees and growing the economy.”