One of the big questions for state Auditor Matt Dunlap’s bid for a congressional seat is what rank-and-file Democrats think of his gutsy decision last year to challenge 2nd District incumbent Jared Golden.

Though Golden has since announced he will not be seeking reelection, Dunlap’s fate in the race may depend on whether Democrats hail his courage in taking on a four-term incumbent or scorn him for trying to oust Golden, who has held a Republican-leaning district for years.

Rewarding those willing to take chances isn’t a bad policy, even in politics.

Dunlap said he decided to take on Golden after hearing from people who had invited Golden to attend the sorts of major events that members of Congress typically show up for. They complained that Golden wouldn’t tell them why — and sometimes didn’t answer at all. One of the despairing Democrats told Dunlap that Golden “doesn’t even walk in parades anymore.”

Dunlap told me he heard from many people in his party “worried about the next election,” who couldn’t understand some of Golden’s votes in the House or comprehend why he wasn’t showing up to give speeches or shake hands.

Fed up, some of them asked Dunlap to consider running against the incumbent.

Dunlap said he began exploring the idea. “I did it quietly at first,” expecting to hear people tell him not to bother.

Instead, though, they were 100% behind the idea of his challenging Golden, Dunlap said. They offered to send money, hold house parties and back him if he opted in.

So Dunlap jumped into the fray, taking the bold step of trying to oust an incumbent from his own party. With Golden out of the running, Dunlap is engaged in a four-way primary with state Sen. Joe Baldacci of Bangor and newcomers Jordan Wood and Paige Loud. The winner will take on former Gov. Paul LePage, who returned from his Florida retirement home to be the GOP’s candidate.

Golden’s exit led to Wood switching from a U.S. Senate bid to the 2nd District race. And it’s why Baldacci and Loud are in it now as well.

Golden has so far been invisible in the primary. He has neither endorsed nor criticized anyone seeking his party’s nomination.

It isn’t clear to me, though, how much difference such an endorsement would make. After all, a lot of Democrats in Maine, including many in the 2nd District, think Golden cozied up to the Republicans too often and displayed undue eagerness to betray his own party on key issues.

Others saw Golden as treading carefully in a district that President Trump won three consecutive times, holding a seat for Democrats that would otherwise join the Republican majority to help Trump.

There’s some truth in both positions. 

One sure thing is that only one of the four people vying for Democratic backing in the district wanted this nomination bad enough to risk going after an incumbent. In politics, as in sports, having courage and heart is sometimes enough to win.