Jared Golden Receives Poor Polling News

Maine Rep. Jared Golden, one of the most vulnerable House Democrats seeking reelection in 2026, faces an uphill climb in his quest for a fifth term, according to new polling.

A survey from Pine Tree State Poll released Thursday shows Golden, 43, trailing former Republican Maine Gov. Paul LePage, 77, 49% to 44% among likely voters. Golden’s poor polling performance comes as he is facing a serious primary challenge from the left for the first time in his career and national Republican groups are pouring money into the race to flip his seat red.

Golden represents the most GOP-leaning district currently held by a Democrat, making the purple district a top pickup opportunity for Republicans during the midterms. President Donald Trump bested former Vice President Kamala Harris in the district by nine percentage points in 2024.

LePage, a two-term governor who has not held office since 2019, also won Golden’s district during his failed run for a third term against Democratic Gov. Janet Mills in 2022.

The ex-governor remains more popular in Maine’s 2nd congressional district compared to Golden, who holds just a 16% favorability rating among district residents, according to the poll. Golden also has a net favorability rating of -25 percentage points. Forty percent of 2nd district residents reported a neutral opinion toward Golden, and 41% had an unfavorable opinion of him.

Though LePage’s favorables are also slightly underwater, 41% of respondents have a positive view of the former governor, 51% have a negative view — a net favorability rating of -10 percentage points — and 6% are neutral toward him, according to the survey.