Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) gained a Democratic primary challenger in the 2026 midterm elections just a few weeks after being the sole Democrat to vote for the House GOP’s short-term spending deal to fund the government.
Golden, a centrist Democrat who frequently breaks with his party on key policy issues, will battle Maine State Auditor Matt Dunlap, who launched his bid on Monday. It will likely be one of the most high-profile primaries of the midterm cycle, and a test of whether the Democratic base will reward Golden for breaking with his party or vote for new representation in Washington.
Dunlap told multiple outlets that he thinks Democrats are disappointed with Golden, and made the congressman’s willingness to side with Republicans a focal point of his campaign.
“What I’ve heard from folks is they think we can do better. They’re unhappy with our current situation,” Dunlap told NOTUS. “You know, Jared Golden, people feel like he’s been bad for us. He has developed a consistency of voting with the Republican caucus on very important issues that affect real Mainers.”
Golden was the only Democrat to join most Republicans in voting for a continuing resolution to keep the government open and funded until Nov. 21. After the Senate failed to get the 60 votes needed to break the filibuster, the government shut down on Oct. 1.
Dunlap told the Maine Morning Star that had he been a member of the Democratic caucus, he would have voted against the Republican spending deal.
“I’m running because Mainers deserve a fighter who won’t cave to [President] Donald Trump. Jared Golden said Trump is ‘OK’ and that we’ll be ‘just fine’ but Mainers are being hurt by his policies,” Dunlap said in a campaign announcement. “Golden has repeatedly sided with Trump, even when it means that healthcare costs will skyrocket for thousands of Mainers. When I’m in Congress, I’ll stand up for Maine, and I’ll fight for affordable healthcare, a lower cost of living, and higher wages for hardworking people.”
Golden’s race last year was expensive for the House Democrats’ campaign arm. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent $2 million backing him in the contest against Republican Austin Theriault in the 2024 election, which Golden narrowly won.
The Democratic incumbent hasn’t faced a primary challenger since 2018. Dunlap told multiple outlets that the DCCC tried to talk him out of a bid. A source familiar with the matter confirmed to the Washington Examiner that the DCCC told Dunlap and state Democratic leadership that “unless Golden is the nominee, it could jeopardize the seat, national investment in Maine, and therefore the path to the majority.”
In a statement, Golden said Maine’s 2nd District is “fiercely independent,” “ideologically diverse,” and deserves a member of Congress who represents it as such. He also acknowledged Democratic voters’ calls for new leadership in Washington after losses in the 2024 election.
“It is also true that in the last decade much has changed about American politics and society in general, which is why we need a new generation of leaders,” Golden said. “A 30-year party crony like Matt Dunlap won’t cut it — the last time Matt held elected office, he was a pro-life Democrat at a time when that unfortunately wasn’t unusual. Watching Dunlap try to recreate himself as a progressive would be amusing if it were not so cynical.”
Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will likely face former Republican Gov. Paul LePage. LePage said in a statement that Golden is an absent representative.
“Matt Dunlap sees what we see, Jared Golden is hiding,” LePage said. “From Aroostook to Oxford and every county in between, Maine people say they never see Jared Golden in their towns or communities. Jared Golden spends more time trying to please his New York, Los Angeles and Cambridge donors than he does talking to the people of Maine.”
Incumbents are historically difficult to oust, and Golden already has the backing from the DCCC and Democratic leaders in Washington. The congressman won his race by less than 1 percentage point last November in a state Trump carried by roughly 10 points.
Golden brushed off Dunlap’s ability to perform better than him in a general election.
“If Matt Dunlap thinks this district will choose him over Paul LePage, he’s got another thing coming,” the congressman said.
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Golden’s seat is one of several that Democrats need to hang on to in their quest to flip the House. Democrats need a net gain of three seats to recapture the majority, which they lost in 2022. House Republicans see Golden’s primary challenger as a sign that the congressman’s days on Capitol Hill are numbered.
“Democrat Matt Dunlap’s entrance into this race proves what we’ve been saying all along: Serial Flip-Flopper Jared Golden has betrayed Mainers at every turn, and his own party is done with his spineless, self-serving ways,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said in a statement. “Golden has got to go, and even Democrats know it.”
