Democratic state Sen. Joe Baldacci will announce in January that he is running for Congress in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.
Baldacci’s announcement is expected on Jan. 12, according to one source. He will join a crowded field of Democrats vying to replace Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, who is not running for re-election.
In a statement, a Baldacci adviser did not confirm the state senator had made a decision but said he was “strongly considering” a campaign. In a Facebook post this week, Baldacci also hinted at a run, laying out a preliminary policy agenda of things he’d like to accomplish in Congress.
Baldacci’s entrance to the race will likely please some national Democrats and Golden supporters, who have tried to recruit a candidate they believe can win the right-leaning district since Golden’s sudden retirement earlier this year.
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The 2nd District, which stretches across Maine’s rural northern half, is one of Democrats’ most at-risk House seats in the midterm election. Democrats had feared it was all but lost after Golden opted against seeking re-election.
A Democratic loss there would be a significant blow to the party’s hopes of winning back the House majority in 2026, in part because the race — as it did in 2024 — will likely draw tens of millions of dollars in spending from both parties.
Baldacci briefly ran for the seat in 2016 and has held office in the state Senate since 2020. His brother, John Baldacci, also represented the seat before becoming Maine’s governor, serving from 2003 to 2011.
Before the general election, however, Baldacci will face what could be one of the Democratic Party’s most competitive House primaries next year.
He’ll square off against state Auditor Matt Dunlap, well-funded former congressional staffer Jordan Wood and political newcomer Paige Loud.
Dunlap, a longtime Democratic official in Maine, launched a primary campaign against Golden this fall, while Wood had spent much of the year running for the U.S. Senate before deciding to run for the House in November.
Republicans have targeted the 2nd District as a top pickup opportunity next year and are expected to nominate 77-year-old former Maine Gov. Paul LePage, who served from 2011 to 2019, as their candidate. Army veteran James Clark is also seeking the GOP nomination.
Golden had held the seat since 2019 amid a series of stiff, biennial challenges from Republican candidates. He won it last year despite President Donald Trump’s 9-point victory in the district, making it the most Trump-friendly congressional district in the country that was still represented by a Democrat in Congress.
Officials close to Baldacci indicated that if the senator does run, he would do so because he sees himself as the party’s most electable candidate.
“Senator Baldacci is strongly considering running because the polling shows he’s far and away Democrats’ best chance to keep this district, which is critical to winning back the House,” said Jared Bornstein, a Baldacci adviser.
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This story was produced as part of a partnership between NOTUS, VTDigger and The Maine Monitor.
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