House Democrats’ campaign arm is supporting state Sen. Joe Baldacci over three other Democrats vying in a June primary for the right to face former Gov. Paul LePage in Maine’s open 2nd Congressional District.
Baldacci was added Monday to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” program, which gives fundraising and organizational support to candidates in priority districts. The 2nd District has been one of top House battlegrounds for more than a decade.
Things are different this year. U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a four-term Democrat who held onto a district won three times by President Donald Trump, announced his retirement from Congress in November. Former Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican who is unopposed in his primary, enters the 2026 race as the favorite to recapture the seat for his party.
Baldacci, a three-term state senator, lawyer and former Bangor city councilor, faces State Auditor Matt Dunlap of Old Town, former political operative Jordan Wood of Auburn and political newcomer Paige Loud, a social worker from Old Town, in the June 9 primary.
“He’s the proven fighter Mainers need in Congress to lower costs, protect health care, and deliver real results,” U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington, the head of House Democrats’ campaign arm, said of Baldacci in a statement.
The national party’s involvement is a particular slight to Dunlap, who is the only one in the field to have announced his run prior to Golden’s exit. He cited frustration with the congressman’s vote for a Republican-backed bill requiring proof of citizenship when voters register for federal elections and later criticized Democratic leaders in Washington for the party’s minority status.
At that time, national Democrats warned him publicly and privately against challenging Golden. Once the congressman left the race, they signaled that they were actively recruiting a challenger. That search slowed down when Baldacci entered the race in January.
Dunlap issued a Monday statement to the campaign of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, whose top primary opponent, Gov. Janet Mills, dropped out last week despite the endorsement of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York.
“It’s undemocratic for national establishment Democrats to put their thumb on the scale in any primary,” Dunlap said. “Just like in certain other races across Maine this year, they won’t decide this one — the people of Maine will.”
Wood, who switched to this race from the U.S. Senate primary after Golden’s announcement, also criticized the national party’s move, calling it an example of the “broken and corrupt political establishment that continues to fail us.”
LePage and each of the Democrats running are likely to be a loyal vote for their respective parties in Congress. The four in that latter group unequivocally opposed Trump’s Iran war and tariffs at a TV debate last week. All of them except Baldacci endorsed Medicare for All. He stated a more incremental goal of lowering the Medicare age to 55.
Baldacci’s older brother, former Gov. John Baldacci, represented the 2nd District from 1995 through 2003. The younger Baldacci briefly joined the 2nd District race in 2016, backing out before a primary with Emily Cain, who lost for the second consecutive time to former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin. Golden, a Marine veteran, beat the incumbent two years later.
“Out of touch Democrat Joe Baldacci has a record of raising costs and making Maine less safe, and he’s already pledged to raise taxes on Mainers in Congress,” Maureen O’Toole, a spokesperson for national Republicans’ campaign arm, said in a statement. “Baldacci’s candidacy is dead on arrival.”