Maine Rep. Jared Golden, the only Democrat in the House to vote for the Republican-led government funding bill, drew a primary challenger Monday who accused him of consistently siding with the GOP over his own party.
State Auditor Matthew Dunlap’s bid sets the stage for a high-profile showdown in a district Democrats will likely need to hold to regain control of the US House. Golden represents one of the country’s most competitive districts, winning his 2024 race by less than a percentage point while Donald Trump carried it by roughly 10 points.
Defending the vote in a statement, Golden said that the shutdown “is the result of hardball politics driven by the demands far-left groups are making for Democratic Party leaders to put on a show of their opposition to President Trump.”
That’s my fear. The district Dems will decide that they want a more reliable Democrat in the primary, and their candidate will get crushed in the general election in this conservative district.
The only reason he’s in office right now is because he convinced Trump voters to also vote for him. To win in Maine’s 2nd, a candidate will need to do that. I’m incredibly skeptical that his primary challenger is going to have much success with that.