Overview

• State Auditor Matt Dunlap formally entered the race on Oct. 6, arguing Golden too often sides with Republicans and citing the congressman’s lone Democratic vote for a GOP funding bill.
• The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is supporting Golden and has told Maine Democrats that ousting him could jeopardize national investment in the district.
• Golden, a three-term incumbent who won by fewer than 3,000 votes in 2024 in a district Trump carried by 9 points, faces a likely general-election opponent in former Gov. Paul LePage.
• Golden’s campaign disparaged Dunlap as a “30-year party crony” and argued he cannot defeat LePage, while Dunlap dismissed the threat of lost national support as an empty scare tactic.
• Internal polling points to uncertainty: Golden’s surveys show a large primary lead over Dunlap and a razor-thin edge over LePage, while a GOP-aligned poll found Golden trailing LePage by five points.