Maine’s Second District Congressman Jared Golden must be feeling his seat’s gotten a little hotter after current State Auditor Matthew Dunlap said on Monday that is considering challenging the three-term incumbent in a Democrat primary next year.
According to multiple media sources, Dunlap, 60, said he is considering running for Congress because he says he is concerned about the country’s direction.
Having served four terms in the Maine House of Representatives representing Old Town and as secretary of state from 2005-2011, Dunlap is currently the state auditor. He made waves in Augusta two months when he issued a report expressing serious concerns about how $2.1 billion in state contracts were awarded which, as a lifelong Democrat, earned him respect from across the aisle.
[RELATED: Maine Audit Reveals Systemic $2.1 Billion Financial Mismanagement and Corruption Risk]
In 2012, Dunlap took out papers to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Olympia J. Snowe, but lost that primary to then state senator Cynthia Dill, who went on to lose to Angus King.
When elected state auditor in 2020, Dunlap showed his grit by studying for certification as a public accountant and failing the test on the first try, but then doubling down and passing it on the second.
Rep. Golden has come under fire recently from those on the left plank of his own party for not holding town hall meetings and supporting President Donald Trump’s tariff policy as well as voting not to shut down the federal government earlier this year. Maine’s Second Congressional District voted for Trump in three elections, which creates pressure on any Democrat to take more centrist and even conservative positions.
[RELATED: Leftist Groups He Once Supported Turn on Jared Golden as Democrats Embrace Purity Tests]
It has been widely speculated that Golden might throw his hat into the widening field for the Blaine House next year, in which current Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and Angus King III, son of the senator, are already declared candidates.
Former two-term governor Paul LePage announced his candidacy to be the GOP nominee for the seat next year. Given LePage’s profile and support, it is unlikely he will face a serious challenger to be the Republican candidate.
