Former GOP governor and Trump ally to challenge vulnerable House Democrat
Former Republican Gov. Paul LePage of Maine announced his campaign Monday to unseat Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, making him the first big GOP challenger to enter the 2026 race.
LePage served as governor from 2011 to 2019 and attempted to run for a third term in 2022 until he lost against Democratic Gov. Janet Mills. Now, LePage has set his sights on Golden, who narrowly won re-election in 2024.
"The entrenched interests are fighting President Trump at every turn as he works to fix problems," LePage said in a statement Monday. "We need more straight talk to help take back Washington."
'I am running to serve the people of Maine and help the President fix Washington. We’ve had too many years of Washington, DC trying to control the people.'
Golden is one of a handful of Democrats who were re-elected to represent a red district. In 2024, President Donald Trump won Golden's district by over six points, opening up a potential pickup opportunity for Republicans.
Golden himself flipped the seat in 2018 and has narrowly held onto it since, often bucking his own party for the sake of political preservation. Notably, Maine uses a ranked-choice voting system, which relies on the voters to rank candidates based on preference. If a candidate fails to secure a simple majority, the least popular candidate is eliminated, and the voters who ranked him or her as their first choice then have their votes distributed to their second-choice candidate.
"I do not need a job, I am running to protect our Maine jobs," LePage said. "I am running to serve the people of Maine and help the President fix Washington. We’ve had too many years of Washington, DC trying to control the people. It is time to put the people before politics."
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Meet The 4 House Democrats Brave Enough To Vote For Election Integrity
The four lonely Dems who voted for the SAVE Act are smart enough to know that only U.S. citizens should vote in U.S. elections.Why 4 Democrats defied their party to protect American elections from illegal aliens
The House passed a Republican-led bill requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration on Thursday. Despite Democrats' overwhelming disapproval of the key legislation, four Democratic lawmakers reached across the aisle.
Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy's SAVE Act was passed in a 220-208 vote almost entirely along party lines, similar to the bill's narrow passage in the previous Congress.
Just as they did in 2024, Democrats voted to tank Roy's bill, with just a handful defecting and joining Republicans: Reps. Ed Case of Hawaii, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington.
While this handful of Democrats bucked their party on a key vote, they likely did so just for political survival.
"I voted for the SAVE Act for the simple reason that American elections are for Americans," Golden said in a statement Thursday. "Requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote is common sense."
Golden, who has previously defected from his party on other key votes, additionally defended the SAVE Act and even debunked some misconceptions about the bill.
"Some claim that requiring proof of citizenship is too onerous a burden, or that it will 'disenfranchise' those whose names have changed for reasons like marriage," Golden said. "The truth is the SAVE Act ensures name changes will not prevent anyone from registering to vote."
"The bill allows for several different ways to prove citizenship," Golden added. "But most importantly, it requires state leaders to establish protocols to allow citizens to register even if there are discrepancies in documents, such as name changes."
In statements shared with Blaze News, both Cuellar and Case echoed Golden's position, arguing that the standards put forward by the SAVE Act ensure that the law is enforced properly.
"Noncitizen voting is illegal, and we should all know that noncitizens are not voting," Case said. "The SAVE Act provides consistent national standards for what documentation is necessary to prove citizenship and the right to vote."
"It includes various acceptable forms of identification which most voter-eligible citizens should have and those who don’t should be able to obtain," Case added. "Fears of voter suppression because of these standards are overstated and should not prevent reasonable citizen ID requirements, and voter suppression is in any event illegal.”
"Ultimately, this is about protecting the integrity of our elections while ensuring every eligible American has a fair chance to vote — whether you are a man or a woman, single, married, divorced, or widowed," Cuellar said. "That’s how we keep trust in our democracy, and that’s something worth standing up for.”
Notably, every Democrat who voted for the SAVE Act, with the exception of Case, resides in a district that President Donald Trump won in 2024. Trump won Golden's district with 53.8%, Cuellar's district with 53.1%, and Perez's district with exactly 50%.
These Democrats also narrowly won re-election in their respective purple districts last election cycle. Golden won with just 50.3% of the vote, Cuellar won with 52.8%, and Perez held on to her seat with 51.7%.
While this handful of Democrats bucked their party on a key vote, they likely did so just for political survival.
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5 Dems Who Voted For Election Security Reform Won’t Say If They’ll Support The SAVE Act Again
In July of 2024, the House passed the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote. Now, the legislation will soon be up for a vote again. Many Democrats still choose to champion insecure election practices, despite broad popular support for safeguards like voter ID and […]Republicans set their sights on vulnerable Democrats in Congress
The National Republican Congressional Committee announced which House Democrats it is targeting next election cycle to expand the GOP majority.
The NRCC has set its sights on 26 "prime pickup opportunities" in light of the GOP's sweeping victory in November 2024. After taking back the White House, the Senate, and keeping the House, Republicans are eager to expand their power on Capitol Hill.
'Vulnerable House Democrats have been hard at work demonstrating they are painfully out of touch with hardworking Americans.'
House Democrats will be hit hard in swing states and even in deep-blue states. The NRCC is targeting five Democrats from California, including Reps. Josh Harder, Adam Gray, George Whitesides, Derek Tran, and Dave Min. Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez from the neighboring blue state of Washington is also on the NRCC's list.
The NRCC is also targeting New York Reps. Tom Suozzi, Laura Gillen, and Josh Riley. Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, who was the sole Democrat in the House to vote in favor of the GOP-led funding bill on Tuesday, was named as a target.
The NRCC is also keeping an eye on the Midwest, with Democratic Reps. Kristen McDonald Rivet of Michigan, Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, Emilia Sykes of Ohio, and Frank Mrvan of Indiana on its list.
The swing-state Democrats from Nevada are on the NRCC's radar, including Reps. Dina Titus, Susie Lee, and Steven Horsford. Democratic Rep. Don Davis from fellow swing state North Carolina is also one of the NRCC's target seats.
After making significant gains with Hispanics, the NRCC is also targeting Democrats with significant Latino populations like Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Rep. Nellie Pou of New Jersey, and Rep. Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico.
Although the South is usually a safe bet for Republicans, the NRCC is vying for a few pickup opportunities below the Mason-Dixon line, including Democratic Reps. Eugene Vindman of Virginia, Darren Soto of Florida, and Jared Moskowitz of Florida.
"House Republicans are in the majority and on offense,” NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson said. “Meanwhile, vulnerable House Democrats have been hard at work demonstrating they are painfully out of touch with hardworking Americans. Republicans are taking the fight straight to these House Democrats in their districts, and we will unseat them next fall.”
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House Republicans fall in line, narrowly pass Trump-backed funding bill
The House narrowly passed a continuing resolution on Tuesday, just days before the Friday funding deadline. The CR is now headed to the Senate, and it's up to the Democrats to avert a government shutdown.
The CR was passed in almost a party-line vote, 217-213, with Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky the sole Republican holdout. Nearly every single Democrat, with the exception of Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voted to tank the CR, which was spearheaded by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and President Donald Trump.
With just days until the shutdown deadline, we will see if Democrats would rather vote for the Trump-backed CR or shut down the government altogether.
"Today, House Republicans stood for the American people and voted to maintain funding the paychecks for our troops, the agents who secure our borders, the TSA workers responsible for safe air travel, as well as the healthcare and benefits for veterans, and essential services and programs that keep the government operational," Johnson said in a statement Tuesday. "But House Democrats decided to double down on partisan politics."
The CR itself is a clean 99-page funding bill with certain provisions boosting ICE and defense funds. Despite those increases, the bill reduces spending by $13 billion compared to fiscal year 2024. Because of these cuts, several House Republicans who were on the fence were persuaded to pass the bill.
A lot of the legwork was done behind the scenes in the days leading up to the vote. White House officials like OMB Director Russ Vought met with fiscal conservatives and some members of the House Freedom Caucus to pitch the Trump-backed CR, as Blaze News first reported. Trump also met with the same group of Republicans, many of whom have a history of voting against CRs.
Despite their track record, many Republicans got on board with the most recent CR. The House Freedom Caucus, which is largely composed of spending skeptics, endorsed the CR the night before the vote. HFC Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.) even made a rare appearance alongside the Republican leadership in a presser Tuesday morning.
So while House Republicans fall in line behind Trump and the GOP leadership, the pressure now weighs on Senate Democrats. Republicans adjourned immediately after the CR's passage, leaving the Senate to take up the bill without the opportunity to make any amendments.
The Senate will need at least 60 votes to pass the GOP-led CR. Meanwhile, Republicans hold just 53 seats. Assuming all Republicans back the CR — and there are currently some holdouts — at least seven Democrats will need to reach across the aisle to avoid shutting down the government. So far, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is the only Democrat to have signaled support for the CR.
With just days until the shutdown deadline, we will see if Democrats would rather vote for the Trump-backed CR or shut down the government altogether.
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