SCARBOROUGH -- During his nearly six-year stint as a state senator, Ethan Strimling of Portland made a name for himself on such disparate issues as opposing the invasion of Iraq, promoting gun control and working to ban ordinary incandescent light bulbs.

But when it came time to introduce himself at a Democratic forum here recently, Strimling, one of six candidates for the Democratic nomination in the 1st Congressional District, focused on an entirely different theme -- the plight of a middle class squeezed by indifferent politicians and a souring economy.

"I am running because Maine families are struggling to make ends meet," Strimling told the gathering of more than 40 Democrats at the Scarborough Municipal Building. "We do not have people, I believe, down in Congress who really understand what Maine families are going through."

Like other candidates in the Democratic race, Strimling is an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq. He wants to curb America's reliance on foreign oil and he backs universal health care.

But his economic message is so central to his campaign that he often works his way back to it when questioned about other issues.

The war, Strimling said at that Scarborough forum, has "distracted from the focus that we need to put on this economy," because ordinary Mainers are overwhelmed by skyrocketing prices, high education costs and retirement dreams that seem out of reach.

The plight of the middle class is so dire, he said in an interview, that the United States runs the risk of creating "the first generation that will not do better than their parents."

Strimling wants to repeal President Bush's tax cuts, raise taxes on hedge-fund managers and provide full government-paid tuition at public colleges and universities. He supports tougher right-to-organize laws for workers, a higher federal minimum wage and what his Web site calls better trade policies that protect workers and the environment while discouraging companies from relocating overseas.

A New York native who holds degrees from the University of Maine and Harvard University, Strimling worked briefly for U.S. Rep. Tom Andrews in the 1990s and managed the 1996 congressional campaign of Dale McCormick. He has been the executive director of Portland West, a social-service agency, for a decade.

Strimling was "young and untried" when he applied for the Portland West job, but he had "a strong sense of advocacy for those who didn't have a strong voice," said William Shuttleworth, who chaired Portland West's board of directors when Strimling was hired. Shuttleworth says Strimling didn't come across as "a budding politician" back then. That changed soon enough.

When Strimling ran for the Portland City Council in 1999, the council overturned the apparent victory of Philip Dawson and declared Strimling the winner after awarding him 35 previously uncounted write-in votes. The resulting furor ended when Strimling relinquished his seat before taking office.

Strimling won the first of three terms in the state Senate in 2002. Once he arrived at the State House, he quickly emerged as a liberal who never shied away from publicity. Thanks to his penchant for grand gestures, such as opposing the looming invasion of Iraq in early 2003, the adjectives that are sometimes used to describe Strimling -- ambitious and self-promoting -- are not always complimentary.

Yet some lawmakers in both parties who have worked closely with him in the Senate say it is unfair to write him off as a publicity hound.

"On the surface, Ethan is a show horse, but you don't spend much time with him before you realize he's a workhorse," said Sen. Joseph Perry, D-Bangor, who co-chairs the Legislature's Taxation Committee, on which Strimling serves. "When he latches on to something that's important, he doesn't let up until it's done."

Perry noted, for example, that when the Legislature inadvertently capped a property-tax break for middle-class Mainers earlier this year in the mistaken belief the cap would only apply to wealthy Mainers, Strimling seized on the error and fought to undo it until the final hours of the legislative session, when the mistake was finally corrected.

Strimling points to that accomplishment, and to his successful push this year for a state minimum-wage increase, as two highlights of his legislative career.

The Project Vote Smart Web site says Strimling has received high ratings from abortion-rights, environmental, labor and women's groups in recent years, and low scores from business groups and the Christian Civic League of Maine.

Strimling, whose parents split up when he was 3 years old, said he's still trying to shed the misconception that he comes from money, when in fact his father, an actor and teacher, was "on and off unemployment for a lot of years."

Strimling has his work cut out for him as the June 10 primary draws near, according to political scientist Ronald Schmidt of the University of Southern Maine. That's because fellow Democrat Chellie Pingree has raised a lot more money than he has, and both Pingree and Mark Lawrence, another Democratic candidate, are better-known than Strimling.

Pingree pulled in $1.1 million through the end of March, compared to $500,950 for Strimling, according to the most recent finance reports.

Although Lawrence placed fourth in the six-way Democratic race for dollars, trailing Pingree, Strimling and Adam Cote, Lawrence has high name recognition because he unsuccessfully challenged Republican U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe eight years ago. Similarly, Pingree waged a U.S. Senate race of her own in 2002, when she tried to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Strimling clearly is well-organized in Portland, according to Schmidt, who lives there, but whether his message will "translate well to people outside of Portland" remains to be seen.

"We feel good" about the campaign, said Strimling, who claims to have the best organization in the six-person Democratic field, as well as enough money to run a competitive race.

He insists he has another arrow in his quiver as well -- his almost single-minded focus on the economy.

That emphasis resonated with at least one undecided Democratic voter who attended the candidates' forum in Scarborough.

Strimling's economic theme "absolutely struck a chord with me," Lori Erwin of Scarborough said after listening to five of the six candidates for more than an hour.

Middle-class Mainers "really are struggling on a week-to-week basis," Erwin said, and the income gap between rich and poor in this country is "huge."