If you wanted to build a name for yourself with Maine Democrats to lay the foundations to run against Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins in 2026, what would be your smartest play? Silly question, I realize, the answer is so obvious: convince elite audiences in Washington, DC that you, in fact, the man.

That’s exactly what Jordan Wood, 35, a former chief-of-staff to progressive California Democratic Congresswoman Katie Porter, is now doing through back-to-back media hits in POLITICO and on NPR.

Betting on the odds that what Maine Democrats desperately need now is another insider, Wood is going for broke.

Even POLITICO, though, sounded unconvinced:

“Wood is born and raised in Lewiston and now lives in Bristol. Wood has spent a chunk of his career in the nation’s capital, which could expose him to attacks that he is out of touch with the state. He moved back to Maine in 2021 after spending 10 years in national Democratic politics.”

The article went on to express thinly-veiled hopes that Maine Governor and Putative Trump Slayer Janet Mills (D) would herself sweep into the race and make short work of Senator Collins — who has in past races defeated Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-CD1), Congressman Tom Allen (ME-CD1), Congressman Mike Michaud (ME-CD2), failed Trump Slayer Shenna Bellows, and the well-funded Sara Gideon.

NPR proved itself more useful to Wood’s aspirations for higher office by portraying him as a convener of useful discussions, sharing beers with veterans during a “Pints and Patriotism” event at a hip Portland brewery.

“We support elected officials from both parties that are committed to publicly defend the most core, fundamental principles of our democracy that we do not believe are partisan,” [Wood] says by way of introduction. “They are: the right to vote for eligible citizens; denouncing political violence against your opponents; stopping the spread of misinformation about our elections; and accepting the outcome of elections and supporting the peaceful transfer of power.”

In this context, Wood is speaking for a group called Democracy First, which appears to be a stealth “bi-partisan” branding ruse for Democrats just bright enough to realize how toxic their party’s brand has recently become. Together with gauzy talk about democracy that could be cribbed from his Lincoln County neighbor Heather Cox-Richardson, this appears to be part of an effort to portray himself as a young man vested in old traditions.

Coincidentally, the democracy talk tracks with overall Democrat messaging in the 2022 midterms, before it was publicly acknowledged that the party’s then standard bearer, President Joe Biden, was not entirely mentally present.

But this is only the beginning of Wood’s long road to winning the Democrat nomination next year. Saying one is going to run against Susan Collins is sort the hip thing to do. To date, a former SpaceX engineer and an online talk show host in Aroostook County have done so. In past years, former Obama national security advisor Susan Rice toyed with the idea, and even I told New York Magazine in a fit of pique in 2019 that briefly I had too.

In most cases, reality sets in before long.

Wood’s true service may end up being smoking out the intentions of more serious candidates. But then again, I too may well be under-estimating the young man from Washington who is here to help. Stay tuned.