Jared F. Golden
DemocratME-2 · Representative
In the 2024 House race for ME-2, Jared Forrest Golden (D) won with 50.4% of the vote, defeating Austin Theriault (R) who received 49.6%. 3 additional candidates split the remaining vote. The 0.7-point margin made this one of the more competitive races of the cycle.
As the incumbent, Jared Forrest Golden benefited from name recognition, established constituent services, and the roughly 2-3 point advantage that sitting members typically enjoy. The 2024 presidential election drove higher voter turnout, which can help or hurt down-ballot candidates depending on the top of the ticket. Given the narrow margin, this seat is likely to remain competitive and attract heavy investment in the next cycle.
In the 2024 House race for ME-2, Jared Forrest Golden (D) won with 50.4% of the vote, defeating Austin Theriault (R) who received 49.6%. 3 additional candidates split the remaining vote. The 0.7-point margin made this one of the more competitive races of the cycle.
As the incumbent, Jared Forrest Golden benefited from name recognition, established constituent services, and the roughly 2-3 point advantage that sitting members typically enjoy. The 2024 presidential election drove higher voter turnout, which can help or hurt down-ballot candidates depending on the top of the ticket. Given the narrow margin, this seat is likely to remain competitive and attract heavy investment in the next cycle.
In the 2022 House race for ME-2, Jared Forrest Golden (D) won with 53.0% of the vote, defeating Jared Forrest Golden (D) who received 48.4%. 4 additional candidates split the remaining vote. The 4.7-point margin made this one of the more competitive races of the cycle.
As the incumbent, Jared Forrest Golden benefited from name recognition, established constituent services, and the roughly 2-3 point advantage that sitting members typically enjoy. As a Democrat, Jared Forrest Golden won despite the historical midterm penalty against the president's party (Democrat Biden was in office). This seat will likely stay on party watch lists as potentially competitive in future cycles.
In the 2022 House race for ME-2, Jared Forrest Golden (D) won with 53.0% of the vote, defeating Jared Forrest Golden (D) who received 48.4%. 4 additional candidates split the remaining vote. The 4.7-point margin made this one of the more competitive races of the cycle.
As the incumbent, Jared Forrest Golden benefited from name recognition, established constituent services, and the roughly 2-3 point advantage that sitting members typically enjoy. As a Democrat, Jared Forrest Golden won despite the historical midterm penalty against the president's party (Democrat Biden was in office). This seat will likely stay on party watch lists as potentially competitive in future cycles.
In the 2020 House race for ME-2, Jared Forrest Golden (D) won with 53.0% of the vote, defeating Dale John Crafts (R) who received 47.0%. 2 additional candidates split the remaining vote. Jared Forrest Golden's 6.1-point lead over the runner-up showed solid but not overwhelming support.
This was an open-seat race. Open seats typically attract stronger candidates and heavier spending from both parties. The 2020 presidential election drove higher voter turnout, which can help or hurt down-ballot candidates depending on the top of the ticket. This seat will likely stay on party watch lists as potentially competitive in future cycles.
In the 2018 House race for ME-02, Jared F. Golden (D) defeated Bruce Poliquin (R) 50.6% to 49.4%. Jared F. Golden received 142,440 votes compared to 138,931 for Bruce Poliquin, a razor-thin margin of just 1.2 points — among the closest races in the country.
Jared F. Golden defeated the incumbent Bruce Poliquin (R), which is a significant political event — most incumbents win re-election by wide margins. This was a general election upset. As a Democrat, Jared F. Golden benefited from the historical midterm penalty against the president's party — with a Republican in the White House, the opposition typically gains seats.