Note: This story was updated to include data from Republican CD-2 candidate Mike Soboleski’s year-end FEC filing.
State Rep. Austin Theriault (R-Fort Kent) raised over $350,000 in the first fundraising quarter of his campaign to challenge Democratic Congressman Jared Golden in Maine’s 2nd District this November, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings published Wednesday.
The former NASCAR driver entered the race in late September, and has received several notable endorsements, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Chair of the House Republican Conference Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)
According to the FEC filing for Theriault’s campaign committee, “Theriault for Congress,” the Fort Kent native closed out 2023 with $337,905 cash on hand.
Significant contributions to Theriault’s campaign committee came from Linda Bean, L.L. Bean heiress ($6,600), Tim Dysart of Dysart’s truck stops ($6,600), David Quirk of Quirk Auto Group ($6,600), former Maine gubernatorial candidate Shawn Moody ($2,500), and former Maine GOP Chair Demi Kouzounas ($1,000).
Kouzounas recently announced her own campaign to run against Sen. Angus King (I-ME) this November.
Theriault also received thousands in contributions from individuals associated with other Maine-based logging and trucking companies.
House Speaker Mike Johnson appears to have followed through on his endorsement of Theriault — Johnson’s “American Revival PAC” donated $5,000 to Theriault’s committee in the year-end quarter, and directed thousands more in contributions through his recently formed “Grow the Majority” committee.
A $2,000 transfer to Theriault’s campaign committee came through Johnson’s Grow the Majority from “Texans for Jodey Arrington,” Texas Republican Congressman Jodey Arrington’s campaign committee.
Rep. Arrington recently appeared alongside Jared Golden at a bipartisan House Budget Committee news conference.
Theriault also received a $6,600 Grow the Majority transfer from Ross Perot, Jr., the son of former third party presidential candidate Ross Perot.
In terms of spending, Theriault’s committee disbursed almost $20,000 in the year-end quarter, spread between an online donation processing service, a fundraising consulting company, and his campaign manager Shawn Roderick.
According to Theriault, his campaign has carried fundraising momentum into the first quarter of 2024, and has now raised $500,000 since the start of his campaign.
“I deeply appreciate the statewide support our campaign has received so far, but we have a long way to go,” Theriault said in a Wednesday statement.
“Beating the Jared Golden/Joe Biden/Mike Bloomberg team is going to require serious resources, and I’m pleased to announce that we’ve raised $500,000 since the campaign began,” Theriault said.
“Here’s the reality: you can’t mount a serious campaign against the country’s progressive billionaires without significant funds and support. I’m also pleased to announce that our team is growing rapidly; Mainers are coming together to stand up for themselves and fight to keep their rights and freedoms, and I will be their voice in Congress,” he said.
Theriault out-raised his primary opponent, State Rep. Mike Soboleski (R-Phillips), by about a ten-to-one ratio during the year-end quarter.
Rep. Soboleski’s year-end FEC filing, published Wednesday afternoon, revealed he collected $35,818 in total contributions during the quarter, and finished 2023 with $24,563 on hand.
[RELATED: Mike Soboleski Wins Androscoggin CD2 GOP Primary Poll by 11.5%…]
Soboleski and Theriault have agreed to participate in a series of three debates in advance of the June primary, one of which is tentatively scheduled for the 2024 Maine GOP State Convention in April.
Whichever of the two Republican candidates is chosen in the June primary will have to face off against the incumbent Jared Golden in the November general election, whose campaign committee reported having $877,859 cash on hand at the end of September 2023.
Prominent election forecaster the Cook Political Report moved Maine’s 2024 2nd District race to a “Democrat Toss Up” designation in November following Golden’s flip-flop on an assault weapons ban.
More of the Maine Wire’s coverage of the 2024 CD-2 race:
- Bellows’ Trump Ballot Ban Becomes Flashpoint in Maine’s Toss-Up CD2 Race
- Mike Soboleski Intervenes to Defend Trump’s Right to Appear on the Maine Ballot
- Maine Congressional Candidates Tour Illegal Chinese Marijuana Sites With The Maine Wire: VIDEO
- Republican Rob Cross Suspends Campaign for Maine’s CD-2
