As the congressional race in Maine’s 2nd District begins to heat up, three-term U.S. Rep. Jared Golden has more than four times as much money in his campaign coffers as his closest challenger.
Jared Golden, left, Mike Soboleski, center, and Austin Theriault. Submitted photos
After raising $733,000 in the final quarter of the year, Golden, a Lewiston Democrat, had more than $1.4 million available to spend at the end of 2023.
His two Republican challengers, state Reps. Austin Theriault of Fort Kent and Mike Soboleski of Phillips, together raised less than half as much in the final quarter as Golden hauled in.
Theriault, who has the backing of U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, has raised a lot more money than Soboleski.
He said in a prepared statement that he’s pleased with the totals he’s taken in, but defeating Golden “is going to require serious resources.”
“You can’t mount a serious campaign against the country’s progressive billionaires without significant funds and support,” he said.
Theriault raised $357,000 by the end of 2023 and said he took in another $150,000 since.
Soboleski attracted $51,000 before the Dec. 31 reporting deadline for the Federal Election Commission.
Golden raised $2.2 million by the same point. He has spent $734,000 so far, more than his two challengers have raised.
The Cook Political Report lists Golden’s district as a toss-up in this year’s election, one of 10 nationwide held by Democrats. It rates 13 GOP-held districts as toss-ups.
In a closely divided House, every contested race is bound to attract a lot of outside spending and national attention, something that’s been true in all of Golden’s previous races as well.
Golden won the seat in 2018 by ousting two-term incumbent Bruce Poliquin, a Republican. He held the seat against GOP challenger Dale Crafts of Lisbon in 2020 and beat Poliquin again in 2022.
Golden has made a name for himself in Congress for bucking the party line. He is the only Democrat to vote with President Joe Biden less than half the time, according to an ABC News analysis. He took Biden’s position 34% of the time in 2023.
The Republicans will pick their standard bearer in a June primary. The general election is Nov. 5.
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