National Dem Support for Baldacci Uncertain Following Upset Ranked-Choice Voting Victory

National Democratic support for Maine’s Second Congressional District (CD2) nominee Matt Dunlap remains uncertain after his upset victory over front-runner and nationally endorsed candidate State Sen. Joe Baldacci (D-Penobscot), thanks to ranked-choice voting.

[RELATED: Wood Gets Shafted: “Courageous” Democratic Candidate Responds After Party Endorses Baldacci Instead of Him…]

“The onus is on Dunlap to make the case for his viability,” an unnamed “Democratic operative” told Axios reporters.

“The DCCC has plenty of paths to the majority that don’t require winning ME-02, and absent the right candidate, it goes into the category of other Trump +9 districts that may or may not get investment,” the operative added.

In early May, Sen. Baldacci received an endorsement from the National Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and was included in its Red to Blue 2026 initiative to flip the House.

Inclusion in the program carried a promise of national left-wing support in a sure-to-be-difficult race against the Republican nominee, former Gov. Paul LePage.

It is not clear whether Dunlap will draw the same national funds Baldacci would have. Baldacci received the most votes, but after an alliance against him between Dunlap and the other candidates, Jordan Wood and Paige Loud, Dunlap took home the nomination when the race went into ranked-choice voting.

DCCC spokesperson Riya Vashi told Axios that Maine’s CD2 remains in play, but conspicuously failed to say whether he would be added to the Red to Blue initiative.

An unnamed “senior House Democrat” reportedly told Axios that the district was “probably lost” following Dunlap’s victory.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who previously came to Maine to campaign for Graham Platner and supported Dunlap in the primary, told reporters that he believes the DCCC should add Dunlap to the initiative.

“They absolutely should add Dunlap to the Red to Blue. We need to support nominees supported by the people, even when not the establishment’s choice,” said Rep. Khanna.

The Maine Wire reached out to Dunlap’s campaign for comment, but it did not immediately respond.

Baldacci did endorse Dunlap following his primary victory, however he has also made multiple social media posts suggesting that Republican donors backed Dunlap against him.

Baldacci highlighted a CNN article showing that Dunlap drew funds from the Real Change PAC, which was funded by conservative groups.

Dunlap has previously served as Maine’s Secretary of State and State Auditor, and, for most of his career, has presented himself as a moderate. During the primary, however, as Maine’s left-wing voters are moving in a more radical direction inspired in part by Platner, Dunlap has shifted toward a more radical stance.

While that new radical progressivism likely helped him with Democratic primary voters, it could be a problem as he vies for support from voters who have historically backed the moderate Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine).

Update: A previous version of this article inaccurately stated that Baldacci had failed to endorse Dunlap. After the publication of this article, Baldacci deleted his posts about conservative groups funding Dunlap’s primary campaign.