Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME-2), one of the most independent voices in Congress, will face a new challenger in 2026: former Maine Governor Paul LePage. Once again conducted under Maine’s ranked choice voting (RCV) system, the race is expected to draw national attention in one of the country’s most competitive congressional districts.

Golden first won in 2018, defeating Republican incumbent Bruce Poliquin in the nation's first RCV runoff for a congressional seat. After trailing in the first round of tabulation, Golden secured the seat when second-choice votes were counted, earning him a majority of votes.

LePage, then governor, wrote “stolen election” in handwriting on the official certification of Golden’s election win. Golden has won three more times since then. Maine voters ratified RCV via two ballot initiatives in November 2016 and June 2018.

IVN recently recognized Golden as one of the most independent members of Congress. “Jared Golden’s independent voting record is shaped by the political realities of his rural, working-class district,” the article noted.

Golden represents a working-class, rural swing district, and his voting record frequently reflects a willingness to break with party leadership. Specifically, in March 2021, Golden was one of just two House Democrats to vote against the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, citing concerns about the bill’s scope and cost.

Later that year, in November 2021, he was the only Democrat to vote against President Biden’s Build Back Better Act, a sweeping $1.7 trillion social spending bill. He opposed the bill’s tax provisions, particularly the expansion of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, which he said disproportionately benefited wealthy taxpayers.

Golden’s independence extends to presidential politics. In a 2024 op-ed in the Bangor Daily News, he wrote: “While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m OK with that.”

In 2025, Golden was the sole Democrat in the House to vote for a Republican-sponsored stopgap spending bill aimed at preventing a government shutdown. He recently joined just three other House Democrats in voting for the Republican-backed Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.

Axios reported in April that Golden is “perhaps the only Democrat on Capitol Hill willing to defend President Trump's new tariffs to the hilt.” Golden dismissed the stock market turmoil that has accompanied Trump's tariffs: "The vast majority of Americans have no stocks."

"I remember Dems being outraged by the World Trade Organization, NAFTA, all these trade deals, even as recently as TPP," Golden told Axios. "Now, all of a sudden, it's like a complete 180-degree flip here where we're staunchly defending the importance and relevance of the stock market to the American economy and defending free trade deals."

LePage, who announced his candidacy this week, brings decades of name recognition to the race. Before becoming governor in 2011, he served as Waterville's mayor and was general manager of Marden’s Surplus & Salvage, a popular discount retailer.

LePage won the governorship in 2010 with 37.6% of the vote in a three-way race and was re-elected in 2014 with 48.2%. Barred by term limits from running in 2018, LePage said he was finished with politics and took up residence in Florida. LePage later challenged Governor Janet Mills in 2022, losing that race by 13 points.

When asked for a reaction by the AP to LePage’s campaign announcement on May 4, Golden responded, “I thought Paul was doing his best work in retirement."

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