Matt Dunlap Wins Maine’s Democratic Primary in a Key Congressional District

Maine state auditor Matt Dunlap is projected to win the Democratic primary in the race to replace outgoing Rep. Jared Golden in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.

The Associated Press called the race early Friday morning, 10 days after the June 9 primary.

Dunlap, a progressive candidate who was the Maine co-chair for Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, will face Paul LePage, the state’s former Republican governor, in the general election in November. It’s one of the most closely watched races for both parties looking to win the House majority.

The district is one Republicans have long eyed as a possible pickup seat, and Democrats expect a major fight as they try to hold on to it. The Cook Political Report has classified it as a “likely” Republican district.

Golden won his last election by less than a percentage point in 2024, and the district has voted for Trump each time he has run.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee included the district in its 2026 Red to Blue program, which is aimed at investing in competitive districts, though it backed state Sen. Joe Baldacci in the primary. The endorsement drew criticism from other candidates in the race, who argued the DCCC was putting its thumb on the scale.

Dunlap beat out Baldacci, former congressional aide Jordan Wood, and social worker Paige Loud for the nomination.

The race for this seat was tight, with not a single contender winning more than 50% of the vote in the first round of counting. Because no one cleared the majority, additional rounds of tabulation were triggered, eliminating Loud and Wood and distributing second- and third-choice votes to the remaining candidates. This put Dunlap over the top and secured him the win against Baldacci.

Jim Melcher, a professor of political science at the University of Maine at Farmington, said on primary day that a win by Dunlap “would definitely be a sign of the progressive wing being in ascendancy.”

“Matt Dunlap has been around Maine politics, he’s in a way an establishment figure, but he also was co-chair of Bernie Sanders’ campaign,” Melcher said. “Somebody other than Baldacci winning would be a rejection of what Washington’s been trying to push in this race.”

Dunlap was endorsed by progressives such as California Rep. Ro Khanna.