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Pointing to growing incivility on Capitol Hill and threats of violence against his family, U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, said Wednesday that he will not seek reelection to his seat. In a commentary piece published by The Bangor Daily News, Golden, a moderate who is key to the Democrats’ recapturing the lower chamber next year, conceded that he had "never loved politics," but had found “purpose and meaning in service.” “The Marine in me has been able to slog along through the many aspects of politics I dislike by focusing on the good work that Congress is capable of producing with patience and determination,” he wrote. In a separate post to X, Golden said that he was “confident that were I to run again, I would win. But recent events have made me reconsider whether the good I can do in Congress still outweighs the cost to my family.” “ ... Last year we saw attempts against Donald Trump’s life, and more recently we witnessed the firebombingof Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home, the assasination of Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota and the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk," he wrote in his commentary piece. In that same commentary, Golden pointed to the ongoing government shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history, as a motivating factor in his decision. “This unnecessary, harmful shutdown and the nonstop, hyperbolic accusations and recriminations by both sides reveal just how broken Congress has become,” he wrote. President Donald Trump carried Golden’s 2nd District seat in the 2024 election. Democrats had looked to Golden as a bulwark against the district’s more conservative tendencies. Last month, defying Democratic powerbrokers, Maine state Auditor Matt Dunlap announced he was launching a primary bid. Speaking to WCVB-TV last month, U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-4th District, who serves with Golden in a PAC dedicated to electing more Democrats, called on Dunlap to abandon his ambitions. “Any Democrat who tries to trip him up or undermine him going into that general election is directly helping his MAGA competitor,” Auchincloss told the station. “And I encourage Mr. Dunlap to drop out and to support Jared, because with Jared’s victory, we are one seat closer to a House majority for Democrats, which is critical to putting a check on this president’s worst impulses.” Auchincloss, like Golden, is a Marine veteran. MassLive reached out to Auchincloss and U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, also a Marine veteran, for comment for this story. In his commentary piece on Wednesday, Golden didn’t mention his primary competition by name. “I don’t fear losing. What has become apparent to me is that I now dread the prospect of winning,” he said. “Simply put, what I could accomplish in this increasingly unproductive Congress pales in comparison to what I could do in that time as a husband, a father and a son.”
