Latest news with #PaulLePage
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jared Golden plans to stay in Congress, won't run for governor or Senate
May 20—U.S. Rep. Jared Golden said Tuesday that he will seek another term representing Maine's 2nd District in Congress, setting up a potential head-to-head race against former Gov. Paul LePage in 2026. Golden, a Lewiston Democrat, has represented the sprawling, conservative district since 2019. He may face a primary challenge from Democratic State Auditor Matthew Dunlap, who said he is considering a run for the seat. Former Republican Gov. Paul LePage announced this month that he is running for Golden's seat, and he's expected to have a clear path to his party's nomination next June. Golden, 42, has been raising money for another reelection campaign for Congress. But he also has been mentioned as a possible gubernatorial or U.S. Senate candidate and acknowledged Tuesday that he considered seeking a different office before deciding to defend his seat and give Democrats a better chance to make gains in Congress. "While I have considered many options for how best to continue serving the people of Maine, I have decided to run for reelection because the surest way to restore balance in Washington is for Democrats to win back the House of Representatives," Golden said in a statement. "While the election is still 18 months away and I remain focused on my responsibilities to my constituents and my family, I also know the path to the majority runs through Maine. And I am going to do what it takes to make sure no one like Paul LePage blusters his way into Congress." Golden's history of voting against his party and issuing public statements that break from the party line — including saying he would be OK with a second Trump administration and his support of tariffs — have angered some Maine Democrats who want to see him face a primary challenge. But Golden also has had the support of the national party because of his ability to flip and hold a seat in a district that has repeatedly backed President Donald Trump. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was quick to praise Golden after Dunlap said he was considering a primary challenge. And House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York joined other top party leaders in a written statement Tuesday saying Golden has been loyal to his district and to the party. "Jared Golden is a respected colleague and friend, valued leader and combat veteran whose honesty, integrity and commitment to core Democratic values make him the right fit for his district," they said. "Jared's dedication to representing all of his constituents — no matter their party affiliation — makes him uniquely suited to once again win one of the toughest seats in the country for Democrats to hold. He's also helping Democrats flip Republican seats in competitive districts throughout America." Jordan Kathleen Burns, Golden's campaign manager, said Golden is "a proven winner and the right choice to beat a candidate like Paul LePage and restore checks and balances in Congress." "The stakes are clear: While the GOP in Congress is working overtime to take away Mainers' health care and further rig the tax code for the rich, Jared is standing up for our health care, workers' rights, reproductive freedom and Maine's heritage industries," Burns said in a statement. A campaign strategist for LePage said the former governor is confident he can defeat Golden. "Gov. LePage has always won Maine's 2nd District in every race he has run and we expect the voters will support him again. He has a proven record of speaking directly while creating jobs, lowering costs, and taking on liberal extremism," Brent Littlefield said in a written statement. Golden narrowly won reelection in 2024 against his Republican challenger, former state Rep. Austin Theriault of Fort Kent. Theriault endorsed LePage in a post on X, saying he considered another campaign but decided to sit it out to spare his party a primary contest. "A crowded, divisive primary would only hurt our chances in November," he wrote. "I'll be supporting Governor LePage in his race for Congress, and I hope you'll join me," Maine's 2nd District has become a battleground in recent elections, as Trump has won one of the state's four electoral votes in the rural district composed of northern and western Maine in each of the last three presidential races. Republicans have once again eyed the district as a seat to flip in 2026. Golden said prior to last year's election that he was "OK" with Trump winning. He also refused to endorse Kamala Harris. His announcement Tuesday included a round of endorsements from Maine labor unions, including ones representing carpenters in New England and machinists at Bath Iron Works. A native of Leeds, Golden joined the Marines after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and served two combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He returned home, completed his college education and entered politics as an aide to Maine's senior U.S. senator, Republican Susan Collins. He then served two terms in the state Legislature, rising to party leadership, before winning his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Jared Golden says he wants to stay in Congress, won't run for governor
May 20—U.S. Rep. Jared Golden said Tuesday that he will seek another term representing Maine's 2nd District in Congress. Golden, a Lewiston Democrat who has represented the district since 2019, may face a primary challenge from State Auditor Matthew Dunlap. Former Republican Gov. Paul LePage announced earlier this month that he is running for the seat. Golden, 42, has been raising money for another reelection campaign for Congress, but has also been mentioned as a possible gubernatorial or U.S. Senate candidate. "While I have considered many options for how best to continue serving the people of Maine, I have decided to run for re-election because the surest way to restore balance in Washington is for Democrats to win back the House of Representatives," Golden said in a statement. "While the election is still 18 months away and I remain focused on my responsibilities to my constituents and my family, I also know the path to the majority runs through Maine. And I am going to do what it takes to make sure no one like Paul LePage blusters his way into Congress." Golden's voting records and public statements — including his willingness to work with President Donald Trump and his support tariffs — have angered some Maine Democrats who want to see him face a primary challenge. But Golden also has had the support of the national party because of his ability to hold a seat in a district that has repeatedly backed Donald Trump. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was quick to back Golden after Dunlap said he was considering a primary challenge. "Rep. Golden has proven he is uniquely-suited to win tough races, and the DCCC is proud to work to reelect him once again next November," DCCC Spokesperson Nebeyatt Betre said. Jordan Kathleen Burns, Golden's campaign manager, said Golden is "a proven winner and the right choice to beat a candidate like Paul LePage and restore checks and balances in Congress." "The stakes are clear: While the GOP in Congress is working overtime to take away Mainers' health care and further rig the tax code for the rich, Jared is standing up for our health care, workers' rights, reproductive freedom and Maine's heritage industries," Burns said in a statement. Golden narrowly won reelection in 2024 against his Republican challenger, former state Rep. Austin Theriault. Theriault endorsed LePage in a post on X, saying he considered another campaign but decided to sit it out to spare his party a primary contest. "A crowded, divisive primary would only hurt our chances in November," he wrote. "I'll be supporting Governor LePage in his race for Congress, and I hope you'll join me," Maine's 2nd District has become a battleground in recent elections, as Trump has won one of the state's four electoral votes in the rural district composed of northern and western Maine in each of the last three presidential races. Republicans have eyed the district as a seat to flip in 2026. Golden, a centrist Democrat, said prior to last year's election that he was "OK" with Trump winning. Golden won his seat after a ranked choice runoff against Republican Austin Theriault, a first-term state lawmaker. This story will be updated. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why longtime Trump ally and former Republican Gov. Paul LePage is aiming for a political comeback
LEWISTON, MAINE - EXCLUSIVE - Former two-term Gov. Paul LePage of Maine says President Donald Trump is a major reason why he's coming out of political retirement at age 76 – and he's eyeing a campaign comeback. "I never, ever had any aspirations to go to Washington until now," LePage said this week in his first national interview after launching his bid for the House in Maine's Second Congressional District, which is a top swing seat the GOP aims to flip in the 2026 midterm elections. The contest will likely be one of the most closely watched House races in the country next year as the Republicans aim to hold their fragile majority in the chamber. "Donald Trump, I think, is doing what is necessary in addressing the debt this country is facing. And I think that's a big, big thing for me," LePage said as he was interviewed in the Maine city where he was born and raised. House Republican Campaign Chair Spells Out His Playbook To Hold The Congressional Majority LePage highlighted, "I have a friend in the White House right now. I know President Trump. I think I can have an audience of President Trump. I know several of his secretaries very well. And so I think this is a good time. It's a good time for me to go help." Read On The Fox News App LePage – the brash and blunt politician who won over blue-collar workers struggling with economic woes, which helped the Republican businessman win election and re-election in the blue-leaning state – was one of the first major GOP elected officials to endorse Trump when the president first ran for the White House nearly a decade ago. "I was Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular," LePage joked at the time, in a line that's since become famous. The conservative governor, who grabbed national attention with controversial comments made during his tenure, briefly moved with his wife, Ann, to Florida after finishing his second term in 2019. "I am done with politics. I have done my eight years. It's time for somebody else," he said at the time. Congressional Democrats Targeting These House Republicans In 2026 Midterm Battle But LePage re-established residency in Maine five years ago and challenged his successor as governor, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, in the 2022 election. LePage ended up losing his bid for a third term by 13 points to Mills, but he did carry the 2nd Congressional District in that race. Moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, a U.S. Marine veteran who deployed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and who often bucks his own party in Congress, has held the seat since first winning it in 2018. But Golden won re-election by a razor-thin margin last year in the district, which is the second-most rural in the U.S. and the largest east of the Mississippi River. And Trump, who carried the district in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections by nine, seven and 10 points, earned an electoral vote each time, as Maine and Nebraska, are the only two states in the union to allocate their electoral votes partially by congressional district. Maine's Golden Takes Aim At Fellow Democrats Over Policy Golden, in a statement after LePage announced his candidacy, said, "I thought Paul was doing his best work in retirement." But the 42-year-old Golden has yet to announce whether he'll seek re-election next year or instead run for either the state's Senate seat or the open governor's office. Meanwhile, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spotlighted LePage's tenure as governor. "Paul LePage's time in office was defined by his obsession with blocking Mainers' ability to receive quality health care, opposing Medicaid expansion at every possible opportunity," DCCC national press secretary Viet Shelton argued in a statement. "At a time when Republicans in Congress are pushing the largest cut to Medicaid in history, Mainers can't afford LePage's crusade to rip health care away from people." In his Fox News interview, LePage reiterated that the nation's debt is a top motivation for him to return to politics. As of May 8, the national debt was $36,212,886,111,158.26, according to Fox News' National Debt Tracker. "It's the spending and the debt that this country has, and I'm worried about my grandchildren, great-grandchildren. And I think we have a president now that's really willing to tackle it, and I'm willing to help," he said. But LePage added that "the other thing that is really big is what's happening in our country with the woke environment. I think I want to be there to help clean that up if we can. Having boys play in girls' sports is really sad." He also highlighted his Tuesday meeting—part of a three-day swing through the congressional district—with Maine student Cassidy Carlisle, whom he described as "the courageous young woman fighting unfair male competition in girls' sports." Maine's 2nd Congressional District shares a long border with Canada. When asked if he'll be spotlighting border security and immigration as major issues in his campaign, Lepage said, "Big time." But the controversial tariffs the president placed on nations across the globe last month has strained relations with Canada. "I'm all for the tariffs," LePage said. "The tariffs will fix our international trade and lower taxes." LePage acknowledged: "Is it going to hurt in the short term? Yeah, it's going to hurt a little bit in the short term, but I think it's necessary." And he predicted that "the tariffs are going to be a short-term problem. I think they're going to settle out." LePage spoke with Fox News at Lewiston's Franco Center, a performing arts center and historic site of Franco-American culture located in a former Gothic church built in 1907 for French Canadian immigrants in Maine, which is located alongside the city's historical mills and canals. The former governor, who survived a troubling and often brutal upbringing, gave Fox News a tour of the many dwellings within blocks of the Franco Center, where he spent his childhood. The eldest son of 18 children, LePage grew up speaking French in an impoverished home with an alcoholic and abusive father who was a mill worker. At age 11, he ran away from home after his father beat him and broke his nose. He lived on the streets of Lewiston and often crashed on friends' couches for a couple of years before earning a living shining shoes, washing dishes at a restaurant, and haling boxes for a local truck driver. "I had a very, very, rough upbringing as a youth. We were in welfare, we were in poverty," he said. LePage, speaking in the church where he was baptized and sought refuge during his family troubles, told Fox News, "It feels good coming in this building. This was a special building. A couple of nuns and priests were really helpful in my upbringing." He went on to graduate from high school, and with financial help from friends, attended and graduated from college. He later enjoyed success as a businessman, including greatly expanding Marden's Surplus and Salvage, a Maine-based discount store chain. Years later, he ventured into politics, winning election to the Waterville city council and later serving as the city's mayor before winning statewide office in 2010. The former governor says his rough childhood has influenced his political life in a way that not many other politicians can understand. And he lamented, "Unfortunately, the mentality in the current society is not to help people get out of poverty, but it's to keep them in poverty." "I want to help get them out of poverty," he said. "I think there are so many programs that we can institute that will elevate people in poverty, rather than keep them."Original article source: Why longtime Trump ally and former Republican Gov. Paul LePage is aiming for a political comeback
Fox News
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Why longtime Trump ally and former Republican Gov. Paul LePage is aiming for a political comeback
LEWISTON, MAINE - EXCLUSIVE - Former two-term Gov. Paul LePage of Maine says President Donald Trump is a major reason why he's coming out of political retirement at age 76 – and he's eyeing a campaign comeback. "I never, ever had any aspirations to go to Washington until now," LePage said this week in his first national interview after launching his bid for the House in Maine's Second Congressional District, which is a top swing seat the GOP aims to flip in the 2026 midterm elections. The contest will likely be one of the most closely watched House races in the country next year as the Republicans aim to hold their fragile majority in the chamber. "Donald Trump, I think, is doing what is necessary in addressing the debt this country is facing. And I think that's a big, big thing for me," LePage said as he was interviewed in the Maine city where he was born and raised. LePage highlighted, "I have a friend in the White House right now. I know President Trump. I think I can have an audience of President Trump. I know several of his secretaries very well. And so I think this is a good time. It's a good time for me to go help." LePage – the brash and blunt politician who won over blue-collar workers struggling with economic woes, which helped the Republican businessman win election and re-election in the blue-leaning state – was one of the first major GOP elected officials to endorse Trump when the president first ran for the White House nearly a decade ago. "I was Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular," LePage joked at the time, in a line that's since become famous. The conservative governor, who grabbed national attention with controversial comments made during his tenure, briefly moved with his wife, Ann, to Florida after finishing his second term in 2019. "I am done with politics. I have done my eight years. It's time for somebody else," he said at the time. But LePage re-established residency in Maine five years ago and challenged his successor as governor, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, in the 2022 election. LePage ended up losing his bid for a third term by 13 points to Mills, but he did carry the 2nd Congressional District in that race. Moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, a U.S. Marine veteran who deployed to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and who often bucks his own party in Congress, has held the seat since first winning it in 2018. But Golden won re-election by a razor-thin margin last year in the district, which is the second-most rural in the U.S. and the largest east of the Mississippi River. And Trump, who carried the district in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections by nine, seven and 10 points, earned an electoral vote each time, as Maine and Nebraska, are the only two states in the union to allocate their electoral votes partially by congressional district. Golden, in a statement after LePage announced his candidacy, said, "I thought Paul was doing his best work in retirement." But the 42-year-old Golden has yet to announce whether he'll seek re-election next year or instead run for either the state's Senate seat or the open governor's office. In his Fox News interview, LePage reiterated that the nation's debt is a top motivation for him to return to politics. As of May 8, the national debt was $36,212,886,111,158.26, according to Fox News' National Debt Tracker. "It's the spending and the debt that this country has, and I'm worried about my grandchildren, great-grandchildren. And I think we have a president now that's really willing to tackle it, and I'm willing to help," he said. But LePage added that "the other thing that is really big is what's happening in our country with the woke environment. I think I want to be there to help clean that up if we can. Having boys play in girls' sports is really sad." He also highlighted his Tuesday meeting—part of a three-day swing through the congressional district—with Maine student Cassidy Carlisle, whom he described as "the courageous young woman fighting unfair male competition in girls' sports." Maine's 2nd Congressional District shares a long border with Canada. When asked if he'll be spotlighting border security and immigration as major issues in his campaign, Lepage said, "Big time." But the controversial tariffs the president placed on nations across the globe last month has strained relations with Canada. "I'm all for the tariffs," LePage said. "The tariffs will fix our international trade and lower taxes." LePage acknowledged: "Is it going to hurt in the short term? Yeah, it's going to hurt a little bit in the short term, but I think it's necessary." And he predicted that "the tariffs are going to be a short-term problem. I think they're going to settle out." LePage spoke with Fox News at Lewiston's Franco Center, a performing arts center and historic site of Franco-American culture located in a former Gothic church built in 1907 for French Canadian immigrants in Maine, which is located alongside the city's historical mills and canals. The former governor, who survived a troubling and often brutal upbringing, gave Fox News a tour of the many dwellings within blocks of the Franco Center, where he spent his childhood. The eldest son of 18 children, LePage grew up speaking French in an impoverished home with an alcoholic and abusive father who was a mill worker. At age 11, he ran away from home after his father beat him and broke his nose. He lived on the streets of Lewiston and often crashed on friends' couches for a couple of years before earning a living shining shoes, washing dishes at a restaurant, and haling boxes for a local truck driver. "I had a very, very, rough upbringing as a youth. We were in welfare, we were in poverty," he said. LePage, speaking in the church where he was baptized and sought refuge during his family troubles, told Fox News, "It feels good coming in this building. This was a special building. A couple of nuns and priests were really helpful in my upbringing." He went on to graduate from high school, and with financial help from friends, attended and graduated from college. He later enjoyed success as a businessman, including greatly expanding Marden's Surplus and Salvage, a Maine-based discount store chain. Years later, he ventured into politics, winning election to the Waterville city council and later serving as the city's mayor before winning statewide office in 2010. The former governor says his rough childhood has influenced his political life in a way that not many other politicians can understand. And he lamented, "Unfortunately, the mentality in the current society is not to help people get out of poverty, but it's to keep them in poverty." "I want to help get them out of poverty," he said. "I think there are so many programs that we can institute that will elevate people in poverty, rather than keep them."
Washington Post
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage to run for Congress in Trump-friendly district held by Democrat Golden
LEWISTON, Maine — 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.
