Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Maine State Auditor Matt Dunlap won the Democratic primary for the state\u2019s 2nd District, a blow to party leaders who backed one of his opponents in the top House battleground.<\/p>\n
Dunlap, who emerged victorious from a ranked choice runoff early Friday morning, will face former GOP Gov. Paul LePage in a seat that is a priority target for both parties nationally.<\/p>\n
Republicans are optimistic they can flip the district after Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), who has represented the 2nd District since 2019, opted not to seek reelection this fall. President Donald Trump has won the district three times, including by 9 points in 2024.<\/p>\n
Dunlap, who previously served as secretary of state and was backed by the Bernie Sanders-linked Our Revolution, originally jumped into the race to challenge Golden before the incumbent announced in November<\/a> he would not run. His decision to challenge Golden irked national Democrats, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee backing one of his primary opponents, state Sen. Joe Baldacci.<\/p>\n Dunlap, however, ended up receiving outside backing from a group, Real Change PAC, which seemed to have ties to Republicans and spent more than $500,000 to boost him and attack Baldacci.<\/p>\n The race was closely fought between Dunlap, Baldacci and former congressional chief of staff Jordan Wood, with the three candidates finishing within 3 percentage points of each other in the June 9 primary. A fourth candidate, Paige Loud, finished the first round with just 10 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n Dunlap faces a tough general election against LePage, the former two-term governor who remains popular with the GOP base \u2014 and won the 2nd District in his 2022 attempt at a gubernatorial comeback even as he lost statewide that year.<\/p>\n