Although Republicans like to pretend that President Trump and his MAGA agenda are popular among everyday Mainers, they know better.

You don’t need to look any further than this year’s state Senate elections. The Republican Party didn’t even bother fielding a candidate in nine of the 35 races. Their Democratic counterparts left one race uncontested.

Look a little deeper, however, and you’ll see political trickery at work by the GOP.

In four of those nine contests abandoned by Republicans, GOP-aligned candidates switched their party affiliation — from Republican to independent — shortly before filing to run, allowing them to take on Democrats without the baggage of their longtime party allegiance.

A maneuver like this is perfectly legal. It’s also a clear attempt by those candidates to fool voters into thinking they aren’t aligned with Trump.

The four candidates in question are each running in districts that are at least somewhat competitive, including the 21st Senate District in Lewiston, where two Democrats are vying in a primary to be their party’s standard bearer. The winner will take on one of these four pseudo-independents, Eryn Soule.

Soule, a former city councilor in Lewiston who lost her seat last fall, was registered as a Republican until two weeks before she filed paperwork in February to run as an unaffiliated candidate in the contest.

Soule’s record suggests she’s a hardcore Republican. The same month that she switched parties, Soule touted a GOP state House candidate in a special election in Lewiston, insisting that Trump-backer Janet Beaudoin was “100% what Lewiston needs, now more than ever.”

Last year, on social media, Soule showed her support for two other Republican state House contenders in the area, Laurel Libby of Auburn and David Boyer of Poland. She also posted two days before Christmas, “Want to MAGA? Clean out the NGOs!!”

Soule appears to be friendly with the Maine Wire, the right-wing news site that bashes immigrants and promotes Republicans. She posted last September on Facebook, “Thank you, Maine Wire, for always reporting the facts!”

Although I disagree with many Republican priorities, I believe voters should have a real choice at the ballot box. That choice must be clear and honest, not based on any sort of deception.

In addition to Soule’s race, Republicans in three other districts switched to unaffiliated just before filing to run for Senate: Catherine Gordon in District 9, Nicole Kalloch in District 12 and Win Mitchell in District 13.

To be fair, both parties have engaged in this sort of duplicity across the nation, of late, hoping to capitalize on voters’ fondness for independents and broadly felt disgust with the two major parties (an increasing number of voters are themselves identifying as independents).

It’s rarely easy to know how far an unaffiliated candidate leans toward one side or the other, at least until they win office and have to vote on bills and pick a side to caucus with.

Once they’re in office, it tends to be easier to tell. For instance, Maine Sen. Angus King and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are independents who align with the Democrats.

Take Rick Bennett’s campaign for governor. He’s been a Republican his whole life, but is definitely not on board the Trump train. Bennett is running as an independent this year; he would have no chance of winning a statewide Republican primary.

 In the end, it’s up to voters to make sure they know who they’re picking on Election Day, and why.

Candidates like Soule can call themselves whatever they want. But if they support Trump, endorse Republicans and cozy up to the Maine Wire, they’re not really independents. Don’t let the ballot fool you.

Editor’s note: Both the author’s son, Kiernan Majerus-Collins, and Eryn Soule unsuccessfully sought an appointment to an open Lewiston City Council seat this year.