AUGUSTA, Maine — State Rep. Austin Theriault released Wednesday the first television advertisement in the 2nd Congressional District race in which the Republican and fellow state Rep. Mike Soboleski are vying to take on U.S. Rep. Jared Golden in November.
The 30-second spot titled “I’ll Fight” will air districtwide ahead of the June 11 primary between Theriault, a former NASCAR driver from Fort Kent, and Soboleski, a Marine veteran from Phillips whose resume includes time as a small-business owner, actor and car salesman.
Theriault, who has the backing of national Republicans including former President Donald Trump and has raised more than $1 million to Soboleski’s roughly $100,000, mentions Trump’s endorsement several times in the new ad.
“While politicians talked, President Trump fought for working people. He took on China and secured the border,” Theriault, who owns a driver development business, says in the ad that mostly features him in a garage and footage from his racing days.
“Together, we’ll secure the border, stop Biden’s electric vehicle mandate and bring back American manufacturing,” Theriault adds. “I’ll fight to make sure our best days are ahead.”
The Theriault campaign described the TV ad as a “six-figure buy” without providing the specific cost, and it comes on top of numerous radio and digital ads. In a February poll of likely GOP voters, Theriault led Soboleski by 18 percentage points, with the early poll also giving Trump an edge over Biden in Maine.
Both Soboleski and Theriault have described themselves as supporters of Trump, who is facing numerous criminal cases. Trump carried the massive 2nd District in 2016 and 2020 while losing the statewide vote and southern Maine’s 1st District each time to former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Biden.
The two faced off at Maine Republican Party Convention and CBS 13 debates in April. Soboleski has cast himself as the “grassroots” candidate with a perfect Conservative Political Action Conference rating while criticizing Theriault as “establishment Austin” and trying to pick at his State House voting record on issues such as the partial decriminalization of prostitution and safe injection sites.
Golden, the Marine veteran who voted against Biden more than any other House Democrat in 2023, has defeated his Republican challengers since winning office in 2018. His campaign reported raising more than $3 million from January through March. Still, national observers have rated the 2nd District race a “toss up” ahead of November.
