Jared Golden | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 2nd district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Bruce Poliquin |
| Member of the Maine House of Representatives from the 60th district | |
| In office December 3, 2014 – December 5, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Nate Libby |
| Succeeded by | Kristen Cloutier |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jared Forrest Golden July 25, 1982 Lewiston, Maine, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Isobel Moiles (m. 2015) |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Bates College (BA) |
| Website | House website |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 2002–2006 |
| Battles/wars | War in Afghanistan War in Iraq |
Jared Forrest Golden (born July 25, 1982) is an American politician and a Marine Corps veteran serving as the U.S. representative for Maine's 2nd congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, his district, the largest east of the Mississippi River by area, covers the northern four-fifths of the state, including Lewiston, Bangor, and Auburn. Golden is the first member of Congress elected by ranked-choice voting.[1] He was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as a United States Marine.
Golden was born in Lewiston and raised in Leeds.[2] He attended Leavitt Area High School. Golden enrolled as a student at the University of Maine at Farmington but left after one year to join the United States Marine Corps in 2002. He served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.[3][4]
After returning home to Maine, Golden attended Bates College, graduating with a degree in history and politics.[5] He went on to work for an international logistics firm and then for Maine's Republican Senator Susan Collins on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.[6][4]
Golden returned to Maine in 2013 to work for the House Democratic Office in the Maine Legislature. As a Democrat, Golden ran for and was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 2014, representing part of the city of Lewiston. He was reelected in 2016. In the subsequent legislative session, Golden became Assistant House Majority Leader.[3] Golden chaired the Elections committee and the Joint Select Committee on Joint Rules.[7]
|
See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine § District 2 |
On August 24, 2017, Golden announced his candidacy against Bruce Poliquin to serve in the United States House of Representatives for Maine's 2nd congressional district.[3] On June 20, 2018, he was declared the winner of the Democratic primary, defeating environmentalist Lucas St. Clair and bookstore owner Craig Olson.[8]
On election night, Golden trailed Poliquin by 2,000 votes. As neither candidate won a majority, Maine's newly implemented ranked-choice voting system called for the votes of independents Tiffany Bond and William Hoar to be redistributed to Poliquin or Golden in accordance with their voters' second choice. Exit polls indicated that 90% of the independents' supporters ranked Golden as their second choice, which on paper was enough to give Golden the victory.[9] The independents' supporters ranked Golden as their second choice by an overwhelming margin, allowing him to defeat Poliquin by 3,000 votes after the final tabulation.[10] He is the first challenger to unseat an incumbent in the district since 1916.[11]
Poliquin opposed the use of ranked-choice voting in the election and claimed to be the winner due to his first-round lead. He filed a lawsuit in federal court to have ranked-choice voting declared unconstitutional and be declared the winner. Judge Lance E. Walker rejected all of Poliquin's arguments and upheld the certified results.[12] Poliquin appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and requested an order to prevent Golden from being certified as the winner, but the request was rejected.[13] On December 24, Poliquin dropped his lawsuit, allowing Golden to take the seat.[14]
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See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine § District 2 |
Golden ran for reelection in 2020 and won the Democratic primary unopposed. His Republican opponent was Dale Crafts, a former Maine Representative. Most political pundits expected Golden to win the general election easily; polling showed him ahead of Crafts by an average of about 19%, Sabato's Crystal Ball and The Cook Political Report both rating the contest as "Likely Democratic", and analysis website FiveThirtyEight predicted that Golden had a 96 out of 100 chance of winning, with Golden garnering nearly 57% of the vote in their projection of the most likely scenario.[15][16][17][18]
In November, Golden defeated Crafts 53%-47%, a closer margin than expected.[19] President Donald Trump carried the district in that same election.[20]
Golden was sworn in on January 3, 2019. During the election for Speaker of the House, he voted against Democratic Caucus nominee Nancy Pelosi, as he had pledged to do during his campaign, instead voting for Representative Cheri Bustos of Illinois.[21] On December 18, 2019, Golden voted for Article I of the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump but was one of three Democrats to vote against Article II.[22]
On February 6, 2020, Golden endorsed Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado for president during the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries.[23]
As of June 2022, Golden had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 84.3% of the time.[24]
Golden was the lone House Democrat to vote against the Build Back Better Act, citing concerns about tax cuts that would likely benefit the wealthy.[25]
Golden was the only Democrat to vote against the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021 to expand background checks on gun purchases and one of two Democrats, along with Ron Kind of Wisconsin, to vote against the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021, designed to close the so-called Charleston loophole. Both bills passed the House in March 2021.[26]
In 2022, Golden was one of two Democrats, the other being Kurt Schrader of Oregon, to vote against raising the minimum age to purchase semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.[27]
Golden was one of two Democrats, alongside Kurt Schrader of Oregon, to vote against the first version of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a stimulus bill intended to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant economic fallout.[28] He cited concerns such as broad eligibility for $1,400 stimulus checks and high levels of public debt, saying, "At some point, the bill has to come due."[29]
| Maine's 2nd congressional district, 2018 Democratic primary elections results[34] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Round 1 | Round 3 | |||||||||
| Votes | % | Transfer | Votes | % (gross) | % (net) | |||||||
| Democratic | Jared Golden | 20,987 | 46.4% | +2,624 | 23,611 | 52.2% | 54.3% | |||||
| Democratic | Lucas St. Clair | 17,742 | 39.2% | +2,111 | 19,853 | 43.9% | 45.7% | |||||
| Democratic | Craig Olson | 3,993 | 8.8% | -3,993 | Eliminated | |||||||
| Democratic | Jonathan Fulford | 2,489 | 5.5% | -2,489 | Eliminated | |||||||
| Total active votes | 45,211 | 100% | 43,464 | 100.0% | ||||||||
| Exhausted ballots | - | +1,747 | 1,747 | 3.9% | ||||||||
| Total votes | 45,211 | 100% | 45,211 | 100.0% | ||||||||
% (gross) = percent of all valid votes cast (without eliminating the exhausted votes)
% (net) = percent of votes cast after eliminating the exhausted votes
| Maine's 2nd congressional district, 2018 general elections[35] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Round 1 | Round 3 | |||||||||
| Votes | % | Transfer | Votes | % (gross) | % (net) | |||||||
| Democratic | Jared Golden | 132,013 | 45.6% | + 10,427 | 142,440 | 49.18% | 50.62% | |||||
| Republican | Bruce Poliquin (incumbent) | 134,184 | 46.3% | + 4,747 | 138,931 | 47.97% | 49.38% | |||||
| Independent | Tiffany Bond | 16,552 | 5.7% | - 16,552 | Eliminated | |||||||
| Independent | Will Hoar | 6,875 | 2.4% | - 6,875 | Eliminated | |||||||
| Total active votes | 289,624 | 100% | 281,371 | 100% | ||||||||
| Exhausted ballots | - | +8,253 | 8,253 | 2.85% | ||||||||
| Total votes | 289,624 | 100% | 289,624 | 100% | ||||||||
% (gross) = percent of all valid votes cast (without eliminating the exhausted votes)
% (net) = percent of votes cast after eliminating the exhausted votes
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jared Golden (incumbent) | 197,974 | 53.0 | |
| Republican | Dale Crafts | 175,228 | 46.9 | |
| Write-in | 33 | 0.0 | ||
| Total votes | 373,235 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
Golden's wife Isobel (née Moiles) served as a city councilor in Lewiston from 2016 to 2018.[37][38] They have a daughter who was born in May 2021.[39]
