Congressman Rep. Jared Golden surprised Maine's political establishment last November when the Democrat announced that he was dropping his reelection bid for the seat he had held since 2019.
The 43-year-old said hyper-partisanship, the threat of political violence, the difficulty of getting anything done in Congress and his obligations to his young family all contributed to his decision.
During an hour-long conversation with Maine Public's political team, Golden also talked about his criticisms of the Democratic strategy during the 2024 presidential campaign and whether the threat of a primary played into his decision to step aside (he said it didn't).
We started the conversation by pointing out that partisan gridlock and many of the other reasons he cited for leaving Congress already existed when he first ran for Maine's 2nd District seat in 2018. So we asked: what's changed?
"As bad as it was in 2018 2019 when I first got there, it is worse today, by far, in almost every kind of metric I think I could choose," Golden said. "There are less members of Congress who see positive incentives to work across the aisle, more and more people who think that the way to get attention or rise up is to just be kind of the loudest, angriest, most partisan individual on your side of the aisle."
Golden said he sees an "ugliness" among members on both sides of the aisle that's somehow gotten worse since the January 6th attacks on the U.S. Capitol. He is a moderate or centrist Democrat who consistently voted with his party on such core Democratic issues as abortion rights, the Affordable Care Act and supporting labor unions. But during the past seven years, Golden was sometimes the only Democrat to vote for Republican-sponsored bills or against his party's high-profile priorities, such as gun control or President Biden's $2 trillion Build Back Better spending plan.
Golden said he represents the interests and views of his constituents in the 2nd District, which leans Republican. And while he has been criticized by some in his own party for specific votes, he argued that much of that is coming from a vocal, one-third minority.
"Two thirds of the primary voting population are pleased with the job that I've done," Golden said. "They understand my pragmatism, they understand the need to actually win Republican votes in order to win and represent the district. There are 32,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats, and this one-third increasingly just doesn't want to believe any of that."
Next year, Golden would have faced a Democratic primary challenge from current state auditor and former Secretary of State Matt Dunlap. But he said internal polling showed him 30 points over Dunlap.
"If I wanted to win that primary, I would over any contender that I see in the field, or I'm hearing would be in the field," Golden said.
He added that neither the primary nor a general election challenge from former Republican Gov. Paul LePage had any influence on his decision to step aside.
"I made a decision for myself and my family — and also one I think that's good for the people of Maine," he said. "At the end of the day, if you're not feeling like you can give the job 100, 110%, then why not make room for someone else who's going to bring that type of energy?"
While he's the most media-shy member of Maine's congressional delegation, Golden can be blunt when he decides to speak out. For instance, in a July 2024 op-ed, he predicted that Donald Trump would win the fall election and that he was "OK with that."
It was arguably a watershed moment for Golden and his relationship with progressives and liberals in Maine. Many were infuriated by his talk of Democratic "pearl-clutching" and his allegations that the left was trying to scare voters by warning that Trump would destroy American democracy.
Six months later, Golden stands firmly by his message at the time.
"I would point out that I was right: Donald Trump won the election. He also won the national popular vote," he said.
That op-ed, Golden said, was a message to his own party: that there was still time to pivot to talking more about the economy and affordability. Instead, he said the party continued to focus on the perceived threat to Democracy.
"And we lost," he said. "And I am okay with that, because I support democracy. And when 50-plus percent of people vote for someone then, you know, that's who won the election. And you've got to move on."
But many Democrats — and even some Republicans — say their worries have come true. Masked, heavily armed ICE agents are sweeping up immigrants (and sometimes U.S. citizens) with no criminal history. Trump is openly using his Justice Dept. to seek retribution against his opponents. His administration is killing alleged drug-smugglers and seizing oil tankers in international waters and threatening war against Venezuela, all without congressional approval.
Asked about those concerns, Golden he is most worried about what he describes as rampant corruption within the administration.
"You can call it soft corruption, whatever you want," Golden said. "But they are finding any way they can to bring profits either into the president's family or just into his circle in general. I hate that."
If Trump is given an inch, Golden said, he'll take a mile. So he adds that it is Congress' job to make sure that the institutional checks and balances are applied in full force. Of course, many critics of this administration have accused the Republican-controlled Congress and the nation's highest court of ceding their authority in keeping the president in check.
But Golden said he has faith in the American system and that the country "will be just fine on the other end of it."
"I think the courts are very active on an almost daily basis," he said. "We're going to win some, we're going to lose some. I think that finally, we're starting to see a little bit of spine in the Congress in the last month or so."
The congressman has also said his decision not to seek a fifth term was motivated, in part, by the recent incidents of political violence — from the killings of Charlie Kirk and Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota to the two assassination attempts on Trump. Golden has recounted how he and his family celebrated their 2024 Thanksgiving in a hotel room because of a threat against their home.
Golden said he believes political violence poses a bigger threat to American democracy than any one person ever could. And closer to home, his responsibilities have changed.
"I now have, you know, two young girls with my wife, Isobel," he said. "And some of the threats are made against them, not against me. And you know, that'll hit home."
Unlike some other resigning members of Congress, Golden isn't trying to be their state's next governor or senator — at least not right now. He says he only immediate plan us to focus on his young family.
But he said he still has a passion for politics and, when pressed, acknowledged he isn't ruling anything out.
"I am not at all planning on running for anything again in the future," Golden said. "But you know, some of my mentors through the years have said, 'Don't take things off the table' because you just don't know, right?"
For the next year, Golden said he'll be busy focusing on getting things done for the people of the 2nd District.
This edition of Maine's Political Pulse was written by State House correspondent Kevin Miller and produced by digital news reporter Esta Pratt-Kielley. State House bureau chief Steve Mistler and Kevin Miller interviewed Rep. Jared Golden for this edition of the Political Pulse. Read past editions or listen to the Political Pulse podcast at mainepublic.org/pulse.
