Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage to run for Congress in Trump-friendly district held by Democrat Golden
LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage, an early supporter of President Donald Trump's first successful White House bid and a polarizing figure in state politics, said Monday he is running for Congress in a competitive district.
LePage, a Republican who was governor from 2011 to 2019 and lost a bid for another term in 2022, filed papers late Sunday to run for the 2nd Congressional District seat currently held by Democratic Rep. Jared Golden. The district is politically mixed, as voters have sent Golden to Washington four times in a row while also supporting President Donald Trump in three consecutive presidential elections.
LePage, 76, brought Maine into the national spotlight as governor with incendiary statements about out-of-state drug dealers impregnating 'young white' girls and a political rival he said would 'give it to the people without providing Vaseline.' He also described himself as 'Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular' and threw support behind the future president in 2016.
LePage made support for Trump less of a focus in his failed 2022 bid for governor, but said in a Monday statement that 'entrenched interests are fighting President Trump at every turn as he works to fix problems.' He also vowed to fight 'extreme woke policies that defy common sense,' protect the 2nd Amendment and create jobs.
Golden, 42, served as a member of the Maine House of Representatives for four years while LePage was governor. A spokesperson for Golden said the congressman is prioritizing protecting Maine's fishing communities, fighting Republican-led health care cuts and working to secure jobs at the Bath Iron Works shipyard and is not focusing on reelection.
Golden said in a Monday statement: 'I thought Paul was doing his best work in retirement.'
LePage initially moved from Maine after leaving the governor's office in 2019 and took up residence in Florida. He then re-established residence in Maine. His bid to unseat Mills in 2022 would have made him the longest-serving governor in Maine history.
Regardless of who the candidates are, the 2nd Congressional District in Maine will be one of the most-watched House races in the country in 2026 because Republicans hold a slim majority in the chamber and the district is one of the most competitive. Golden narrowly won reelection over Republican Austin Theriault last year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
23 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Thousands of demonstrators march through Rome to call for an immediate end to the war in Gaza
ROME (AP) — Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Rome on Saturday against the war in Gaza in a protest called by Italy's main opposition parties, who accuse the right-wing government of being too silent. Protesters held a banner reading 'Stop the massacre, stop complicity!' at the start of the march, which moved peacefully through the center of Rome amid a massive display of rainbow, Palestinian and political party flags.
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Israel retrieves the body of a Thai hostage as 95 people are reported killed in Gaza
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel said Saturday it retrieved the body of a Thai hostage abducted into the Gaza Strip during the Hamas-led attack that sparked the war, as Israel's military continued its offensive, killing at least 95 people in the past 24 hours, according to Gaza's health ministry. Nattapong Pinta had come to Israel to work in agriculture. Israel's government said he was seized from Kibbutz Nir Oz and killed early in the war, which began on Oct. 7, 2023.
Toronto Star
2 hours ago
- Toronto Star
2026 races loom at Georgia Republican convention as Trump loyalty dominates
DALTON, Ga. (AP) — Steve Bannon took the stage Friday night at the Georgia Republican Convention to say it's too early to be talking about 2026. 'Don't even think about the midterms,' the Republican strategist told activists. 'Not right now. '26, we'll think about it later. It's backing President Trump right now.' But it didn't work. There was plenty of praise for Donald Trump. And while the party took care of other business like electing officers and adopting a platform, the 2026 races for governor and Senate were already on the minds of many on Friday and Saturday in the northwest Georgia city of Dalton. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'Everybody campaigns as quick as they can,' U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told The Associated Press Saturday. Lots of other people showed up sounding like candidates. Greene, after passing on a U.S. Senate bid against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff, laid out a slate of state-level issues on Saturday that will likely fuel speculation that she might run for governor. Echoing Trump's signature slogan, Greene told the convention to 'Make Georgia great again, for Georgia.' She called for abolishing the state income tax, infusing 'classical' principles into Georgia's public schools, reopening mental hospitals to take mentally ill people off the streets, and changing Georgia's economic incentive policy to de-emphasize tax breaks for foreign companies and television and moviemakers. 'Now these are state-level issues, but I want you to be talking about them,' Greene said. In her AP interview before the speech, Greene said running for governor is an 'option,' but also said she has a 'wonderful blessing' of serving her northwest Georgia district and exercising influence in Washington. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'Pretty much every single primary poll shows that I am the top leader easily, and that gives me the ability to think about it. But it's a choice. It's my own, that I will talk about with my family.' More likely to run for governor is Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is expected to announce a bid later this summer. 'I promise you, I'm going to be involved in this upcoming election cycle,' Jones told delegates Friday. Like Greene, Jones is among the Georgia Republicans closest to Trump, and emphasized that 'the circle is small' of prominent Republicans who stood by the president after the 2020 election. Jones also took a veiled shot at state Attorney General Chris Carr, who declared his bid for governor in December and showed up Friday to work the crowd, but did not deliver a speech to the convention. 'Always remember who showed up for you,' Jones said. 'And always remember who delivers on their promises.' Carr told the AP that he didn't speak because he was instead attending a campaign event at a restaurant in Dalton on Friday, emphasizing the importance of building personal relationships. Although Trump targeted him for defeat in the 2022 primary, Carr said he's confident that Republicans will support him, calling himself a 'proud Kemp Republican,' and saying he would focus on bread-and-butter issues. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'This state's been built on agriculture, manufacturing, trade, the military, public safety,' Carr said. 'These are the issues that Georgians care about.' The easiest applause line all weekend was pledging to help beat Ossoff. 'Jon Ossoff should not be in office at all,' said U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, who is spending heavily on television advertising to support his Senate run. 'Folks, President Trump needs backup, he needs backup in the Senate,' said state Insurance Commissioner John King, who is also running for the Senate. 'He's going to need a four-year majority to get the job done. And that starts right here in the state of Georgia.' Former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley, who expressed interest Friday in running for Senate, did not address delegates. But one other potential candidate, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, did. Collins told delegates that in 2026 it was a priority to defeat Ossoff and replace him with a 'solid conservative.' It's not clear, though, if Collins himself will run. 'We're going to see how this thing plays out,' Collins told the AP. 'I'm not burning to be a senator, but we've got to take this seat back.' Read more on the U.S. Election at
