Democratic Rep. Jared Golden is projected to win reelection, defeating Republican Bruce Poliquin in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, which was one of the extremely contested midterm races this yr.
The district is certainly one of 13 Democratic-held Home districts carried by former President Donald Trump in 2020. The Cook dinner Political Report rated the race as a tossup. The Related Press projected Golden because the winner after the competition headed to a ranked-choice runoff.
Golden is a average recognized to go in opposition to occasion strains on essential votes. In 2021, he was the one Democrat to vote in opposition to the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package deal and the one Democrat who voted in opposition to the Construct Again Higher Act as a result of the invoice included a tax break for millionaires.
Golden bucked his occasion as soon as extra this summer time when he voted in opposition to an assault weapons ban, and he criticized President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel pupil mortgage debt.
“I believe, typically, I don’t agree with my occasion’s characterization of probably the most urgent wants in the mean time,” Golden advised Politico in October.
Nevertheless, Golden has voted in help of a number of Democratic priorities, together with payments to codify Roe v. Wade and marriage equality. He additionally supported the infrastructure invoice, laws to extend microchip manufacturing, and the Democrats’ local weather change and well being care invoice, generally known as the Inflation Discount Act.
His key marketing campaign guarantees this yr included reforming marketing campaign finance, cleansing up corruption, and increasing well being care protection.
Golden beat Poliquin for a similar seat in 2018, successful by a razor-thin margin to turn into the primary candidate within the district in additional than a century to unseat an incumbent and the primary member of Congress elected through ranked-choice voting.
Born and raised in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, the now-40-year-old congressman enlisted at age 19 within the U.S. Marines in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist assaults. He served fight excursions in Iraq and Afghanistan.