U.S. Rep. Jared Golden. (via Congressman Jared Golden/Facebook)
There is no question that U.S. Rep. Jared Golden is at risk of losing his seat to Republican Austin Theriault.
Last week, the first public survey of the 2nd Congressional District race showed Theriault leading the Democratic congressman by 3 percentage points. The Republican challenger, a former Nascar driver who served one term in the Maine Legislature, is running with the backing of former President Donald Trump and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Golden on the other hand has built his reputation as a Democrat who can split tickets and win in “Trump country” by bucking the party establishment, but he’s now defending himself from attacks that he aligns too heavily with President Joe Biden. So as he clings to his seat, he seems to be grasping at anything that can help maintain his image — and unfortunately that seems to be some of the anti-immigrant rhetoric that Republicans are so deft at wielding.
The conservative playbook has always centered on a strategy of winning votes by stirring up fear and resentment of minorities, particularly immigrants. In the final weeks before the election, Trump and his ilk are really going for it, spreading lies about specific communities and false claims that Democrats were looking to add noncitizens to voting registration lists.
And these lies have consequences. Not only do they misinform voters as a whole (and distract from real issues and challenges), but they are putting targets on the backs of some of our most vulnerable neighbors — as we’ve seen recently in Springfield, Ohio.
Last week, Golden was one of just three Democrats to vote for the House GOP’s government funding bill, which included a controversial provision, the so-called Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act or the SAVE Act, that required proof of citizenship to register to vote — a redundant measure because voting as a noncitizen is already illegal.
It wasn’t a surprise as he backed a similar bill in July. In a statement issued after the package failed to advance, Golden said his vote “reflects two important principles: First, that keeping the government funded and avoiding a shutdown is a basic obligation of any Congress. Second, that citizenship in the United States confers awesome responsibilities and exclusive rights in equal measure — including the exclusive right to vote in American elections.”
He added, “To me and the people of my district, these principles are noncontroversial.”
Sure, 2nd District voters likely support the current law, but it seems like a significant leap to say that they back a bill that pro-democracy associations say would make it harder for eligible Americans to vote and civil rights groups warn is intended to “elicit irrational fear of the growing number of citizens of color.” Even the Bipartisan Policy Center said there are “easier, more cost-effective ways to improve voter registration that don’t create new barriers for eligible voters.”
Golden’s colleague, 1st District U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, explicitly tied the effort to the anti-immigrant rhetoric that has ratcheted up in recent weeks. “We’ve built up the stigma about immigrants, the asylum seekers, the people who are in our country right now,” Pingree told C-SPAN. “There’s very little evidence of fraud around voting or of noncitizens voting. It’s already illegal. I just didn’t think we had to add that to the bill.”
To be clear, I’m not saying Golden said or did anything explicitly racist. But rather his dismissal of the citizenship bill as “noncontroversial” gives credence and cover to the more overt racism being spewed by Trump and some members of Congress.
There’s a difference between wanting to secure the border or improve the country’s immigration system, issues Golden has said several times he supports, and leaning into the false rhetoric around fraud and abuse being peddled by Republicans to sow doubt about our elections and voting processes.
In response to questions about his support for the SAVE Act, Golden stood by his vote, arguing the law “would require only routine documents at the point of voter registration, and it includes reasonable alternative processes to prevent any undue barrier to registration.”
He also disputed the connection between the proposal and anti-immigrant messaging.
“Very few people would advocate for letting noncitizens vote in American elections. So I take issue with the suggestion that standing by the long-held principle that citizenship means something is somehow akin to the lies and attacks other people are making against immigrant communities,” he said, adding, “I have never participated in these attacks or made claims about any voter fraud.”
“My vote for the SAVE Act is about citizenship, not immigration,” Golden continued. “We are a nation of immigrants. This country is full of immigrants who became American citizens, and their right to vote is just as sacrosanct as the right of native-born Americans.”
Immigration in Maine
I can understand why Golden felt justified taking these votes. The Pan Atlantic poll also found that 19% of CD1 respondents and 20% of CD2 respondents said immigration is the most important issue facing Maine today.
The reality is that Maine officials, businesses and experts largely agree that in-migration to Maine, both people coming from other states and from abroad, is a boon to the state and part of the solution to Maine’s current and projected workforce shortages.
Golden knows this, because his district includes Androscoggin County, which is home to a thriving immigrant community. In 2019, more than 4,000 immigrants (3.9% of the population) lived in Androscoggin County, according to a recent report by the American Immigration Council in partnership with the University of Southern Maine. The study found that immigrants in Androscoggin County are contributing to the safety net, bolstering the workforce, helping maintain a local manufacturing economy, and are on average better educated than their U.S.-born counterparts.
As with any influx of people, there are short-term growing pains around the need for more social services and overall housing scarcity. The governor’s newly established Office of New Americans aims to address some of these challenges and ease the transition for new Mainers.
But the idea that immigrants are a problem for the state is the result of calculated messaging, meant to distract and divide voters.
Favorability drop
It remains to be seen if Golden’s votes end up winning over some of the key undecided 2nd District voters. But I’m not convinced.
While I’m reluctant to extract too much significance from polling, one of the more interesting findings of the recent Pan Atlantic survey is that Golden’s net favorability has dropped 19 points since the last survey in February 2024.
Last winter, 16% of respondents had a “very favorable” opinion of Golden and 37% said they had a “somewhat favorable” perception. In response to the most recent survey, conducted Sept. 5-15, 11% said they had a “very favorable” opinion of Golden and 32% said “somewhat favorable.”
What’s more, 9% of 2nd District voters surveyed said they remain undecided and, according to the findings, those respondents “were more likely to be younger and to be registered independents or Democrats.” These are voters that should be solidly behind Golden.
What’s ironic here is that while Golden is giving cover to anti-immigrant talking points, Theriault is running ads saying he’ll protect Social Security and bring “more balance and less extremism” to Washington.
I’m not a pollster nor running for re-election in a majority Republican District, but I believe that Golden could be bringing a more nuanced, compassionate approach to the immigration conversation, as he has done with other issues. Leadership should be more than pandering to the most base impulses of your constituents, and the voters of CD2 deserve better than that.
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