AUGUSTA, Maine — A Republican state lawmaker from Fort Kent has spoken with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy about a 2024 run against U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine’s 2nd District and is expected to announce his campaign soon.
First-term state Rep. Austin Theriault, a 29-year-old former NASCAR driver, is one of several Republicans eyeing a run in the swing district won by former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. Golden, a centrist Democrat, has hung onto the seat since taking it from then-Rep. Bruce Poliquin in 2018, defeating the former congressman for a second time last year.
In a notable step, national Republicans are effectively behind Theriault before he announces. He has had calls in recent weeks with McCarthy of California and Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, the chair of the National Republican Campaign Committee, a spokesperson for the caucus campaign arm said. Theriault is expected to finalize his campaign this month.
“National [Republicans} believe that based on [Theriault’s] profile, he has the potential to be the best challenger to Jared Golden over the few last several election cycles,” a National Republican Congressional Committee source said.
The only Republican to announce a bid against Golden so far is former Maine Senate candidate Robert Cross of Dedham. Freshman state Rep. Mike Soboleski of Phillips is reportedly mulling a run in the GOP field, and others are viewed as potential contenders. An unenrolled candidate, Kevin Ball, has also declared a 2024 run.
Theriault has not responded to several requests for comment over the past week. Conservative Rep. Laurel Libby of Auburn is among the potential candidates who have been floated in Republican circles for months. She said Tuesday that she had not made a decision, while Caratunk selectperson Liz Caruso did not respond to a request for comment.
“I’ll only run if I believe I am the best conservative to defeat Jared Golden,” Soboleski said in a statement.
Candidates are circling in part because Cross, a mortgage broker who lost a 2022 primary to Sen. Peter Lyford, R-Eddington, has done little to keep others out of the primary field, raising only $36,000 in the first two months of his campaign.
Golden has a considerable head start on his challengers, reporting more than $826,000 in donations from January through June, ending the period with about $611,000 in cash on hand.
The 41-year-old Marine veteran has repeatedly taken heat from progressives in his party for voting with Republicans and against fellow Democrats on several issues, including on student debt relief, a defense budget with abortion limits, gun regulations and President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan.
He is the most conservative House Democrat on economic issues in both this Congress and the last one while leaning slightly more liberal on social issues, according to VoteView. Golden has taken more progressive stances on issues like tribal rights and campaign finance reform, and Republicans point out that he most often votes with his party.
They are optimistic a higher voter turnout in next year’s presidential election, with Trump the favorite to once again face President Joe Biden, will lead to more support for a GOP challenger against Golden in a district that Trump won twice. But Golden has proven durable, winning crossover support against former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin in 2022.
Theriault defeated Democrat Dana Marie Appleby to win a St. John Valley seat long occupied by former House Speaker John Martin, one of the most influential politicians in state history.
The freshman lawmaker started off on local racetracks as a teenager and reached the NASCAR Cup Series, the highest level of American racing, in 2019. After pausing his race career that same year due to an injury from a crash at Talladega Speedway, he transitioned into a career working as a racing consultant and driver mentor.
Theriault described himself while campaigning for the Maine House of Representatives as a moderate conservative, noting he has Democrats in his family and received support from some on the left while on the campaign trail in northern Maine’s St. John Valley, a heavily Catholic area that Democrats historically carried that features a strong anti-abortion electorate.
