Politics
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State Auditor Matt Dunlap sharply criticized U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, the outgoing Democrat whose 2nd District seat he’s trying to win, at an Orono event last week.
Dunlap faulted the more moderate Golden for questioning his viability last year and for several votes in which Golden sided with the Republican House majority.
The comments showed Dunlap’s willingness to take a more progressive stand while knocking a fellow Democrat whose swing voters could help him fend off former Gov. Paul LePage in a tight race for the conservative-leaning district. The Republican’s team seized on them to paint Dunlap as out of step, and Golden said the remarks said the Democrat looks “scared of losing.”
“I don’t think he’s going to endorse me,” Dunlap said of Golden, according to audio of the event at the University of Maine in Orono obtained by the Bangor Daily News. “In fact, he probably has gone through several cases of Matt Dunlap voodoo dolls, tearing limbs off them.”
His comments at the event traced the months between Dunlap airing a primary bid against Golden last spring, his October decision to run citing the four-term congressman’s vote for a Republican-backed bill requiring proof of residency at the polls and Golden’s November decision to not seek another term.
Dunlap told attendees that he’d been approached about challenging Golden about a year and a half ago after the congressman “kind of went [missing in action]” and Democratic supporters were concerned “he might lose the next election.”
After he announced last year he was exploring a run to make sure the support behind him was genuine, it “blew up and Jared said a lot of things to the press about my viability.” Just after Dunlap announced he was exploring a run, Golden said he “has a small chance of beating me, but zero chance of beating Paul LePage.”
National Democrats backed state Sen. Joe Baldacci, D-Bangor, in the June primary. But Dunlap won, and party leaders in Maine and in Washington eventually rallied behind him in what is shaping up to be a strong year for the party. He is now in their “Red to Blue” program.
At the Orono event, Dunlap went on to say Golden had received “a pass” on many votes because of the makeup of the district. But he said Golden went too far by becoming the deciding vote against two Iran war powers resolutions, not doing enough to preserve healthcare subsidies and often being “the only Democrat voting with Republicans on their agenda.”
“It’s no secret that Matt and Jared don’t see eye to eye on everything,” Dunlap spokesperson Harry Burke told the BDN. “But as these comments show, Matt Dunlap is laser focused on ensuring Maine has a representative who will fight to lower gas prices by ending the Iran War, and lower health care costs by extending the ACA tax credits. Matt is an independent voice who isn’t afraid to criticize members of either party when he thinks they’re out of line with the district.”
In a statement, Golden replied to Dunlap’s remarks by saying a candidate usually knows who they’re running against by now and that the nominee is “running against Paul LePage, not me.”
“This comes across as someone scared of losing, and seeding the ground to shift the blame if he does,” he said.
The Democrat remains generally seen as an underdog in the race with LePage, a former two-term governor. Decision Desk HQ, the BDN’s national election results partner, sees the Republican as having a 64% chance of winning.
LePage has been under fire from Dunlap over his alignment with President Donald Trump, his age and his failure to file his required financial disclosure on deadline. In a debate last week, Dunlap mostly avoided attacking the president directly but criticized the administration on high costs, Iran, immigration enforcement and Medicaid while arguing Congress should be a check on the White House.
“It’s just one more example of how extreme Matt Dunlap is that Jared Golden isn’t liberal enough for [him],” LePage adviser Brent Littlefield said of the Democrat’s criticism of Golden. “He’s so far to the left, he’s out of step with the district.”