RANGELEY, Maine — Democratic Rep. Jared Golden has been on the fringes of his occasion. Now, he’s on the cusp of turning into an influence dealer.
Deep inside Maine’s northern logging nation, throughout a soaked ATV experience to Quill Hill, a lookout about 3,000 ft above sea degree, Golden mentioned his political future this summer season.
The fight veteran is working for a fourth time period in Maine’s largely rural, sprawling and deeply purple 2nd District as an outsider unbeholden to his occasion. He faces Republican Austin Theriault, a former NASCAR driver turned state legislator in one of many nation’s costliest battleground races.
A victorious Golden might see his energy swell. That’s as a result of he’s serving to lead an independent-minded group of younger lawmakers prepared to make use of their leverage and buck management with a view to get what they need. They’re rebuilding the Blue Canine Coalition, a once-venerable centrist bloc that has extra lately been seen as an outdated relic.
If Democrats win a small majority in November led by Blue Canine candidates, it might give Golden and his group energy to dictate the end result of laws on high priorities from local weather change to immigration.
“We’re building, we hope, a team of young Blue Dogs who actually want to legislate and use leverage to get things done the way they should be done for their districts,” Golden mentioned in an interview right here at Oquossoc Grocery, a small market the northern stretch of his district.
“One way you have to do that is a willingness, if the margins are tight, to say ‘no’ to your own leadership, and be, like, look, here’s the list of things that really matter to our constituents,” he mentioned.
It is a working class area the place logging vans rumble by and paper mills nonetheless churn — and Golden appears to be like like he matches in. He arrived in his Chevy pickup sporting a raincoat, khaki utility pants and boots.
No person in a crowded retailer appeared to note the third-term consultant shopping for breakfast, and he spoke so softly that he was barely audible over a jackhammer throughout the road.
However he described an bold plan to refashion the Blue Canine right into a populist group of Democrats with actual energy to be a bulwark in opposition to the occasion’s left — which has been its energy middle for the previous decade.
“We basically reject party loyalty, the idea that there should be some kind of national party with a series of cascading litmus tests and everyone’s gotta follow suit,” Golden mentioned. “I view us as much more populist … it’s about establishing leverage and exerting force and power, political power, for very specific means.”
No person presently in Congress has used their leverage as a centrist, swing vote higher than Sen. Joe Manchin, the Democrat-turned-independent from West Virginia.
Manchin tormented his occasion’s management and left flank for 2 years when Democrats held Congress and the White Home, holding again his vote for months on finish to extract concessions from his occasion’s management on what grew to become the Inflation Discount Act.
Now, with Manchin retiring, he’s backing Golden. “The best of the best,” Manchin mentioned of the Mainer. “What we’re trying to do — and I’m trying to help him any way I can, I’m with him 1000 percent — is try and create support for the middle.”
For Manchin, which means supporting independent-minded candidates from major challengers who might unseat them.
“A person that comes here and wants to be independent … vote your conscience and vote what’s best for the country first, don’t follow the party lines,” Manchin mentioned. “We’re going to make sure they have support.”
Whereas Golden could not have the sway of a single senator from his put up within the Home, he could not want too many extra Blue Canine to turn into a major pressure.
“As congressional majorities have gotten so much narrower, it’s not obvious that you need so many members, as long as you’ve got just enough,” mentioned Ruth Bloch Rubin, a political science professor on the College of Chicago who research how intraparty divisions impression lawmaking.
“Golden’s working from a point of advantage, because whatever congressional majority if Democrats are to retake the House, it’s going to be a narrow one,” she mentioned. “To have someone like Golden who recognizes the importance of organization and institution building, that’s where the action is and that’s where moderates are going to find success.”
If the margins work out in Golden’s favor, it units him on a collision course with the occasion’s strongest figures. That features Senate Majority Chief Chuck Schumer of New York, who has already mentioned taking one other stab at broad local weather laws.
“I don’t want to talk about a climate bill, I’m not doing any more of that,” Golden mentioned of one of many Democrats’ high priorities for subsequent yr.
That doesn’t imply Golden views himself as a foul Democrat. He believes his model of politics dubbed “progressive conservatism” might be a strategy to rescue the occasion in rural, blue-collar districts the place Republicans have trounced Democrats in recent times.
“I’m still the most popular Democrat that has been on the ballot in Maine’s Second District since before I started running for office,” Golden mentioned, citing inner polling numbers that present him sustaining 90 p.c assist amongst Democrats. “So who’s out of whack with Democrats in rural America?”
Golden sees Vice President Kamala Harris — the Democratic presidential nominee — following his mannequin by swinging left on economics and proper on different points such because the border, crime and the atmosphere.
“If you wanna win, then fine, follow me,” Golden mentioned. “I’ll be a bit of your thought leader on how to really represent working class and rural communities where if we were doing as well as we used to, we’d be quite dominant nationally.”
The Blue Canine Coalition was pivotal throughout the Obama administration in shaping points such because the well being care debate. Their numbers have since dwindled. That they had 54 members in 2009. They’re now all the way down to 10.
Golden chairs the group alongside Reps. Marie Glusenkamp-Perez of Washington and Mary Peltola of Alaska. Their races are all thought of toss-ups.
A current ballot from the Portland, Maine-based Pan Atlantic Analysis had Theriault forward of Golden 47-44, however inside the margin of error. The Democrat is forward within the cash recreation.
“Hopefully, I’ll have a team of Blue Dogs around me [next year], and part of it will just be to try and use our collective leverage to make sure that what gets done meets our priorities,” Golden mentioned.
Difficult Dems on vitality
Golden and his Blue Canine have loads of priorities, and plenty of of them are parochial and unsexy.
He persistently battles the Biden administration over rules on lobster fishermen. Peltola joins Republicans to slam the Biden administration’s land protections in Alaska. And Glusenkamp-Perez, an auto mechanic by commerce, has bucked the Biden administration on electrical autos, warning they received’t work in rural communities and fights for farmers to have the ability to restore their very own tractors.
A few of Golden’s strongest resistance to President Joe Biden and Democratic colleagues has to do with vitality and the atmosphere. Golden has an 82 p.c lifetime rating and a 53 p.c 2023 rating from the League of Conservation Voters, which typically aligns with Democrats.
He was one in every of solely 4 Democrats to assist H.R. 1, a Home Republican bundle to ease environmental critiques and promote vitality tasks, with a heavy emphasis on fossil fuels.
“You want to talk about doing an energy bill, let’s do an energy bill,” he mentioned about what Democrats ought to give attention to subsequent yr in the event that they win the elections.
Golden voted for the IRA, however solely after months of objecting to its precursor, the “Build Back Better Act,” which he mentioned was a “poorly-targeted and fiscally irresponsible agenda put forward by the Biden administration.”
“I voted for a bill that was drafted by Joe Manchin,” Golden mentioned. And, like Manchin, he objects to how the administration is implementing it to advertise electrical autos and different inexperienced vitality.
“Their approach to it in the White House has been to get the lawyers out and figure out how they can use waiver authority and all kinds of other shit.”
“They’re not committed to an energy focus that’s about American energy strength, about making an effort to bring new energy sources and technology to America rather than buying from China or from even our allies in Europe,” Golden mentioned. “That’s what I’m for, whether it’s oil and gas, or nuclear, or wind or solar, all the above, all great as long as it’s all made in America.”
Golden says the individuals he represents care extra about reasonably priced vitality than the local weather disaster. And for Golden’s model of politics, pragmatic options to native points all the time come earlier than the pursuits of the nationwide occasion.
“I think that stems from a very constituency-oriented mindset,” Ryan LaRochelle, a political science professor on the College of Maine. “Lots of Mainers are, like, ‘yeah, climate change is important,’ but it’s probably not the most pressing issue for a lot of them.”
The median family earnings in Golden’s district is round $62,000 — under the U.S. common — and round 7 p.c of residents are with out medical insurance, in keeping with census knowledge. The world is usually white, and 13 p.c stay under the poverty line.
Whereas driving on his ATV at full pace so water would splash via the dashboard, Golden was much more keen to speak about securing funding for off-road wheelchairs so disabled kids can hunt than the existential menace of local weather change.
When he does align along with his occasion, it additionally aligns along with his district. Golden helps increased taxes on the wealthy, increased wages for employees, extra reasonably priced entry to well being care and decrease prescription drug prices.
He knocked Republicans for eager to repeal the Inflation Discount Act — not due to the regulation’s local weather spending and inexperienced vitality incentives, however due to it allowed Medicare to barter drug costs and capped insulin at $35 a month.
“With Golden, part of his appeal comes from this sort of pragmatism, that I think is very rooted in rural areas, like ‘who cares about what party you’re from let’s just get shit done’ sort of thing,” LaRochelle mentioned.
Golden’s relationship with former Maine state Sen. Tom Saviello, who got here alongside on the ATV experience, is an instance. The Republican met Golden within the State Home whereas Golden was a consultant.
Saviello was a supporter of then-Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-Maine). However in 2018, pissed off with Poliquin’s assist of Trump-era tax cuts for the rich and repeal of the Reasonably priced Care Act, Saviello bucked his occasion to again Golden in his profitable bid to oust Poliquin.
“Where do you have a congressman that shows up at Farmington, Maine, at your local bar? … That’s who Jared is, he’s part of the fabric and he’s independent in how he thinks,” Saviello mentioned in a telephone interview.
Golden left the College of Maine at Farmington in 2002 to affix the Marine Corps and completed his diploma at Bates School when he returned from excursions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Later, he labored on Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins’ workers earlier than working for the state Legislature as a Democrat. He received and finally rose to the place of assistant Home majority chief.
“He hasn’t forgotten the poverty we have up here,” Saviello mentioned of Golden. “The Democrats have forgotten that. ‘Oh we’re gonna have electric cars.’ How much does an electric car cost?”
Race to the end
Despite the fact that Golden might wreak havoc with Democratic coverage plans subsequent yr, the occasion is targeted on ensuring he wins. Golden’s seat might catapult them again into the bulk.
Nationwide Republicans, for his or her half, are going all-out to elect Theriault and oust Golden, a prize they’ve looked for years.
“I’m going to go to work on day one and look at reforming our energy policy so that we can bring more American energy online in our country,” Theriault mentioned throughout a debate.
Golden shot again: “Since we passed [the IRA], we have drilled more oil and gas in this country than ever before in the history of the United States. That’s the result of that law he’s talking about.”
In August, Home Speaker Mike Johnson paid a go to to Auburn, Maine, to stump for Theriault, who’s endorsed by former President Donald Trump. “Make America Great Again” hats dotted the group in a strip mall GOP workplace.
Theriault launched himself as a Mainer from Aroostook County, an enormous stretch that borders each New Brunswick and Quebec. He served one time period within the Maine Legislature.
“I’m not just a race-car driver,” Theriault mentioned. “I’m very, very proud to have come from a logging family from one of the most rural parts of the state of Maine. My grandfather was a logger, his father was a farmer and my dad is a trucker.”
Theriault harped on Golden as a “flip-flopper,” who has “voted against border security at every turn,” whereas additionally arguing that Golden and Democratic management bear the blame for inflation.
“We have an influx of these illegals coming across our country. They’re stressing our social safety net. We got veterans that are homeless on the street,” Theriault mentioned. “What about the Americans that paid their taxes, who served our country? We need to be putting them first.”
Johnson took the stage to cheers of “USA, USA.” “This election and this race with Austin is one of the most important America, and it will decide the fate of our freedom. I am not overstating this,” Johnson mentioned.
Golden disregarded the GOP’s rhetoric.
“They’ve been pounding on me, tens of millions of dollars, and yet my favorables are still significantly higher than my unfavorables. Not to say that I can’t lose, I certainly could, but not because of Mike Johnson or anything he does,” Golden mentioned.
“If [House Democratic Leader] Hakeem Jeffries came up here, a whole bunch of Democrats would pack the room. But you know, who wouldn’t be in the room, the types of voters that are going to determine the outcome: swing voters.”
And Golden’s supporters say these Maine swing voters like a maverick unbiased. In spite of everything, the state elected William Cohen — one of many first Republicans who backed impeaching President Richard Nixon. Cohen later grew to become Protection secretary for President Invoice Clinton.
“I think Jared’s got the potential to be in the same category where those people communicated and they voted with what their constituents wanted, not what the party wanted,” Saviello mentioned. “He knows he’s elected by people that want that kind of person down there.”
On the finish of the ATV experience, Golden returned to his truck, eliminated his bag from the ATV and opened it.
“It’s soaked,” he mentioned, as he pulled a holstered pistol out of his bag and positioned it within the truck. “Gonna have to clean it.”
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