EXCLUSIVE: Lefty Democrats Just Purged Their Only Congressman Without Trump Derangement Syndrome

Republicans are licking their chops after progressives helped drive Maine Democratic Rep. Jared Golden to retire from Congress, with local operatives and party consultants telling the Daily Caller it gives them a clearer path to victory in Golden’s red-leaning district.

“Bottom line on Maine’s 2nd Congressional District: It’s a Republican-leaning district, now absent the one Democrat who could hold it,” a Republican consultant who has worked on congressional and statewide campaigns in the state told the Daily Caller.

Maine has been long regarded as a moderate state Golden is viewed as one of the few Democrats capable of effectively representing the rural 2nd District’s constituents.

“The district has been getting more and more difficult for the Democrats to win for a decade now,” a longtime Maine political operative told the Caller. 

Golden, a Marine Corps veteran who began his political career working for Republican Sen. Susan Collins, flipped Maine’s 2nd in 2018, ousting Republican incumbent Rep. Bruce Poliquin. It was the first time an incumbent lost reelection in the district since 1916.

Trump won Maine’s 2nd all three times he ran for president, including by almost ten points in 2024.

In 2024, Golden’s campaign messaging straddled both sides of the political spectrum. His ads simultaneously called former President Joe Biden “unfit to serve” while highlighting Republican opposition to abortion. Ahead of Trump’s election last November, Golden said he’d be “OK” if Trump won, accusing his own party of “pearl-clutching” about the ramifications of a Trump presidency. He was one of a handful of Democrats to join Republicans in a vote to reopen the government earlier this week.

Golden’s bipartisan stances often angered the Democratic Party. In 2020, a source familiar told the Caller that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded Golden endorse Collins’s Democratic challenger, state Rep. Sara Gideon, or risk losing their support. Golden told party leadership to “pound sand,” the source said, and asserted they’d lose the seat if they didn’t back him.

The attacks were even more acute from the Democrats’ left flank.

Progressive activists bashed Golden repeatedly over his four terms, accusing him of not standing up for marginalized communities, being too soft on Trump, and abandoning Democrat values.

“The Democrat Party has moved so far to the left and it really just got to the point where he couldn’t do anything. Any vote he took was going to be the wrong one … but he couldn’t move any further to the left because that would absolutely cook him in a general,” a senior Republican strategist said.

The Maine operative echoed the view that Golden was taking a lot of heat from progressive groups but would not allow himself to be bullied by them.

“There was a lot of pressure from the Indivisible group here. They have an organized presence and they were sort of pushing and harassing — they would call it advocating — and he wouldn’t give in to them,” the operative told the Caller. “He kind of dug his heels in with the progressive left a little bit. He was sort of still their ally, but he just wouldn’t let them push him around.”

The mounting frustrating that Golden wouldn’t capitulate to the party’s left-wing base and special interest groups lead to a 2026 primary challenge from State Auditor Matt Dunlap, who planned to campaign aggressively on Golden’s record of siding with Republicans on certain issues, according to a NOTUS report.

The strategist said the overall situation reflected growing frustration within the Democratic Party with Golden.

“They saw Golden was the only one who could win that seat, and so they put up with his nonsense. It is very clear they were not happy with him. Jared Golden’s always just given them the middle finger, and that’s really what led to Dunlap feeling emboldened to jump in,” the strategist told the Caller.

In addition to Dunlap, former chief of staff to progressive Democratic California Rep. Katie Porter, Jordan Wood, is leaving the California Senate race to run in the Democratic primary for Golden’s seat, according to a Politico report.

“I don’t know when he last even visited the 2nd District,” the operative asserted. 

Golden’s exit has given Republicans a better opportunity to flip the seat with former two-term Governor Paul LePage, multiple people familiar with Maine politics told the Caller. (RELATED: Top GOP Target Won’t Run For Reelection After Facing Leftist Challenger)

The operative said, “LePage is kind of a folk hero to the people in rural Maine.”

The Republican consultant identified Golden as being a rare figure who can capture the district’s independent-minded voters and warned Democrats that putting up a progressive challenger to LePage wouldn’t end well.

“In an entirely nationalized political environment, people tend to forget that actual people end up deciding the fate of these elections. Golden was as unique as Maine’s 2nd District: a veteran, former Susan Collins staffer who refused to endorse Sara Gideon despite strong-arming from Schumer and Pelosi in ’20, and wore flannel not because it poll-tested well but because he’s actually from there and wears flannel,” the consultant explained.

Golden claimed in a lengthy column announcing his decision not to run for a fifth term that he was concerned about rising political violence and extremism, citing in part the two assassination attempts against President Donald Trump. The congressman also received a bomb threat of his own last Thanksgiving.

“I don’t fear losing. What has become apparent to me is that I now dread the prospect of winning,” Golden wrote, adding that he has “never loved politics.”

A Republican strategist who worked on the LePage campaign said Golden’s excuse for giving up his seat, though, is “ridiculous,” noting, “Since he left the military, every single job he’s had has been in politics.”

Golden’s sudden departure surprised many, though signs of internal pressure had been building within his own party. The congressman’s op-ed excoriates Democrats for giving into extremism, hinting perhaps at the role an intra-party divide played in his decision to leave.

“We’re allowing the most extreme, pugilistic elements of our party to call the shots,” Golden asserted about the Democrats.

The Maine operative also pointed to a recent slate of polls that indicated Golden’s path to reelection was not as clear as in previous cycles.

“He was getting poll after poll after poll saying he was not going to win … He was the most viable of their potential candidates as far as I could see,” the operative explained.

Golden’s campaign approach shifted noticeably during his 2024 re-election, suggesting he had all but given up amid inner party turmoil and falling poll numbers. The senior strategist observed that Golden was rarely seen at public events or making the kinds of appearances most candidates consider essential in the crucial final months of a campaign.

“He wasn’t someone that was always present in the district, always out and about, and I think he really, at some level, benefited from running a sort of basement campaign,” the strategist told the Caller. “It wasn’t that he was getting all of these Republican or Trump voters to also vote for him and split their ticket — he just wasn’t making Republicans angry enough to vote against him.”

The longtime Maine operative recalled an instance during the late summer of that election year when Golden was allegedly canoeing along the remote Allagash River in Maine’s North Woods — a notably desolate setting just months before the November election.

🚨 Rep. Jared Golden announces that he WON’T seek reelection, setting up what Republicans consider a much easier pickup. pic.twitter.com/BFjGy7HOj1

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 6, 2025

“We were asking where he was, and the response from his campaign team was, ‘He’s canoeing in the Allagash and he’ll be back next week.’ It was just this kind of surreal moment. It was almost like he no longer took anything seriously,” the operative said. (RELATED: Jared Golden Receives Poor Polling News)

Golden has long touted his reputation as a moderate within his party, highlighting his ranking on the Bipartisan Index from the Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, which placed him 7th out of 435 members in the 117th Congress, according to a May 2022 press release. (RELATED: Why Six Democrats Defied Hakeem Jeffries To End Shutdown)

🚨 The Democrats who defected from the party line include Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, Adam Gray of California, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Don Davis of North Carolina and Tom Suozzi of New York.
Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie opposed… pic.twitter.com/SPI5oGlhr8

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 13, 2025

Golden has earned begrudging respect from a large amount of Republican operatives in the state, the consultant said, adding that Golden’s relationship with Collins has remained positive and productive over the years. The pair recently collaborated to urge the Department of Justice (DOJ) to increase investigations and crackdowns on illegal Chinese-owned marijuana operations in Maine.

Losing a key ally of Collins will likely be another blow to Democrats as they aim to hold the 2nd District.

“Susan Collins is at the top of the ticket,” the consultant said. “Collins, a political behemoth, has always run ahead of the national environment for Republicans. Maine’s 2nd District is likely in the ledger for Speaker Johnson”