Tue. Nov 26th, 2024

U.S. Rep. Jared Golden meets with voters during an October campaign event in Eastport, Maine. (Photo courtesy of campaign)

The result of the race for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District that drew national attention is too close to call as of 2 a.m. Wednesday morning. 

With 60% of the vote counted, incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden had 50.18% of the votes compared to the 49.5% earned by his challenger, freshman state lawmaker Republican Austin Theriault, according to the Associated Press.

In a message posted just before 2 a.m., Theriault said that the race is not over.

“Let’s keep the faith and continue to pray — we’ve got a lot of votes yet to count,” he wrote on social media. “Let’s continue the fight tomorrow and let’s win this thing!”

Addressing supporters earlier in the evening, Theriault had said that he’s “cautiously optimistic that we’re going to pull this off.” 

“I feel confident about where we are right now,” he told the crowd assembled at Hollywood Casino in Bangor. “We really want to fight for rural Maine, that’s what this campaign’s been about.” 

Shortly after the polls closed, Golden issued a statement saying that amid a divisive political landscape he felt “good about running a campaign focused on the issues that matter to Mainers — our safety, our freedoms, our health care and our jobs.” 

“As we wait for every ballot to be counted, I want to thank Maine voters for turning out to participate in the greatest democracy the world has ever known,” he added.

Austin Theriault, Republican candidate for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, poses for a picture with supporter Zach Wood during an election watch party at Hollywood Casino Hotel in Bangor on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. (Photo by Michael G. Seamans/ Maine Morning Star)

All eyes on Maine’s 2nd District

The district was among just a few that Republican leaders had hoped to flip in order to grow their slim majority in Congress. Golden was identified by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as a so-called “frontline member,” meaning their purple districts are what campaigners describe as “in play.”

During a visit to Maine this summer, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the matchup between Golden and Theriault was one of the top five races for Republicans in the country. In fact, Johnson’s fundraising committee Grow the Majority, which was created to support Republicans running for House seats, donated more than $116,000 to Theriault before the June primary. 

And in the months leading up to the general election, a billionaire-funded Illinois super PAC spent more than $2 million on ads opposing Golden. 

Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump endorsed Theriault in late March. Shortly before 2 a.m. Trump was declared winner in the 2nd District, securing himself one of Maine’s split electoral votes. 

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