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.”
2018 since he had a primary…
We need healthy fair primaries every cycle, or else the general keeps pulling them right over time. That why the Overton window has moved so much, Republicans had to look out for crazier candidates in primaries and a leadership that would throw them under the bus if they moved left.
We need more progressive challengers at all levels of government, basically everywhere but especially in rural districts.
Consider running for something: https://runforsomething.net/run/
We also need more participation in primaries, by all voters below retirement age but especially millennials.
Know your primaries. Add ‘em to your calendar: https://ballotpedia.org/Democratic_Party_primaries,_2026
Edit: spare yourself the thread below. I tried.
That’s mostly on us
Bullshit
How many cycles are we away from prior DNCs publicly stating anyone that works on a primary campaign is blackballed from all Dem campaigns?
That was a giant poison pill whose effects don’t immediately vanish.
It’s a call to action, not finger-pointing. Are you more concerned with the fight being unfair before than you are winning it now?
I think that it shouldn’t be difficult to figure out blaming voters for the failings of the party and our only options in the general just depresses turnout.
That’s why the new DNC is publicly and repeatedly saying they need to do better, and actually are doing better.
That is what gets more D votes.
What you’re doing is hurting the Dem party and helping trump, even if you still don’t understand it.
I fail to see why progressives must wait for DNC reform before we challenge incumbents and vote in primaries, and I fail to see why suggesting we do so in the future is “helping Trump.”
I legitimately don’t know how else to explain it:
Telling people no one will help them doesn’t motivate them, it’s literally the largest reason nonvoters have given for decades to justify non voting
OK, it seems you’re hearing something very different than what I’m saying. This message is the opposite of fatalism, and is directed at any progressives reading, not you specifically.
The reason Bernie Sanders and AOC are traveling around the US asking young progressives to run is that they are underrepresented by government because they are underrepresented in government.
Lol “far left politics”. Fuck this guy. He’s clearly and obviously a Republican.
I knew it was going to be Golden before I clicked on the link.
I got a fundraising email over the weekend from the guy primarying him. He seems like a legit human & I hope he wins.
Primary that bastard, Maine. Do it!
I can accept that Democrats will likely cave with zero concessions, but if you won’t even shut it down for a day then WTF are you a Democrat for???
To take the place of someone that might try to disrupt the status quo.
Duh. /s
In fairness to Golden, he’s one of very few Dem reps to win in a Trump district, and Maine’s 2nd is very much a Trump district. He can only win by attracting some Trump voters. He does this by aligning with them on gun control (or lack thereof) and some social issues.
As to Golden being a DINO, he still counts toward a Dem majority in the House, and that’s super important.
If Golden loses the primary, the Dem candidate is going to have a very hard time winning the general. And then we’re looking at mini-Trump, former Maine governor and Florida resident Paul LePage, getting elected.
How is it important if he is voting republican?
Committee control is the big reason. Even if he’s not the most reliable vote, the Dems get to control the House agenda if they have the majority. And it’s not like he’s 100% Republican with his voting record, either.
I don’t actually know which is worse. I find Golden to be just another Manchin, in it for the prestige and the cash. I wish Platner were running in the second district even if it meant I couldn’t personally vote for him. Graham is the kind of leadership our state really needs to begin trying to come back together and beat the deliberate division along party lines. I wish we had a dozen of him.
The democratic brand is in the toilet. This guy in power is worst . People dont trust democrats to deliver on their promises because of shit like this. There should be a primary challenge and let the district dems decide if this is what they want.
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.
