FALMOUTH — U.S. Senate candidate Steve Woods on Wednesday went on the offensive against fellow independent Angus King, saying the former governor has become a political insider who’s surrounded himself by politicians and political insiders, making him the wrong candidate to solve the problems plaguing national politics.

The nine Republicans, Democrats and independents appointed to serve as King’s state chairs collectively represent 800 years of public service, Woods said.

“I don’t think that the problems that we’re facing can be solved by looking into the past. The problems that we’re facing have to put in the context of the future,” he said.

Woods, who spoke to reporters as he unveiled his campaign headquarters outside Portland on the campus of his marketing companies, collectively known as TideSmart, has previously professed his admiration for King, and Woods went so far as to “endorse” King, calling him “more politically astute than Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan combined.” He also references King on the home page his campaign website.

But Woods made it clear that he thinks he’d make a better senator because of his convictions, beliefs and status as a political outsider.

Responding to questions from reporters, Woods accused King of being disingenuous by refusing to say which party he’d caucus with if he’s elected to fill the seat that’s being vacated by Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe.

King has left open the door to caucusing with either Republicans or Democrats, or neither. He’s also said his partisan alignment could vary, depending on the issue.

Woods agrees with Republicans who have said all along that it’s highly unlikely that King, a former Democrat, would choose to caucus with Republicans.

“I don’t think there’s any chance in the universe that Angus King would caucus with Republicans. He’d have to be kidnapped by aliens and be tortured to say, ‘Yes, I’m caucusing with the Republicans,'” Woods said.

The King campaign declined to comment.

Woods, by contrast, said Wednesday that he’d caucus with Senate Democrats if he’s elected. Like King, Woods was a Democrat years ago before becoming an independent.

Woods, whose companies focus on live marketing events and employ 50 people in Maine, said he’d like to be Maine’s new independent voice in the Senate.

He’s also putting his own money behind the candidacy, already committing $200,000 and expressing a willingness to spend up to $1.3 million.

Like Snowe, who abandoned the Senate because of what she called dysfunctional politics, Woods said politics need to be fixed. That means getting people involved and retaking control of the process, he said.

“Politics have become too big. The infrastructure, the support, the special interests. It’s become a machine that’s become bigger than the role itself,” he said.

On health care, Woods said he supports President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul despite reservations about some aspects. He said he hopes that the U.S. Supreme Court upholds key aspects of the health care law when it rules, likely Thursday.

One of his six companies that fall under the TideSmart banner is Promerica Health, a company that specializes in mobile health programs.

In the coming weeks, the company will send one of the mobile units into six Maine communities to offer free health screenings for up to 2,000 Mainers. Preventive care is key to cutting down on health care costs and saving lives, he said.

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