(NewsNation) — With 50.4% of the vote, NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ has called the race for Maine’s District 2 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in favor of Rep. Jared Golden. See the results of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate races around the country here.
Democratic Rep. Jared Golden entered the race seeking a fourth term representing a largely rural area of the state. Golden’s opponent, former NASCAR driver and Republican challenger Austin Theriault, was seeking to flip the seat red in what has become an increasingly purple-shaded congressional district.
Theriault received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, but much of his campaign messaging was in hushed, moderate terms for much of the election cycle.
The first-term Maine state representative was hoping to convince enough undecided voters to cast their support for him to unseat Golden after three terms in Washington.
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Golden, a former Marine, refused to endorse any presidential candidate and did not publicly disclose whether he would vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.
He voted against President Joe Biden’s policies more than any other House Democrat in 2023, according to the Bangor Daily News.
Maine’s 2nd District was among a collection of swing elections around the U.S., and Golden was one of 13 House Democrats hoping to maintain their seat in a congressional district that Trump won in 2020, according to the Portland Press-Herald.
Heading into Tuesday’s election, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. Republicans control the chamber with a narrow majority of 220 seats, while the Democrats occupy 212 and three vacancies.
