Battleground Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine — who has thwarted repeated GOP efforts to unseat him in a red district — will not seek reelection, writing in an op-ed Wednesday “that now is the right time to step away from elected office.”
Golden was facing both a primary challenge from his left and a strong challenge from former Maine GOP Gov. Paul LePage in the state’s 2nd District, which President Donald Trump won by about 10 percentage points in 2024.
“I have never loved politics. But I find purpose and meaning in service, and the Marine in me has been able to slog along through the many aspects of politics I dislike by focusing on the good work that Congress is capable of producing with patience and determination,” Golden wrote in the Bangor Daily News.
“But after 11 years as a legislator, I have grown tired of the increasing incivility and plain nastiness that are now common from some elements of our American community — behavior that, too often, our political leaders exhibit themselves.”
