AUGUSTA, Maine — The three Republicans vying to run against U.S. Rep. Jared Golden in 2024 avoided criticizing him while lamenting government dysfunction following Tuesday’s historic vote to remove Kevin McCarthy as House speaker.
It is a reminder of the complicated aspects of Tuesday’s drama in which Golden joined all Democrats and eight Republicans in voting to oust a speaker for the first time in U.S. history. He has used his centrist bonafides to fend off challengers since winning the swing 2nd District in 2018. The Republicans vying to face him in 2024 are still boosting their low profiles.
The motion to remove McCarthy, R-California, came from U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, who expressed frustration over McCarthy working with Democrats to reach a deal over the weekend to avert a government shutdown but needed those same Democrats to oust the speaker.
Golden, who represents Maine’s 2nd District, which former President Donald Trump carried in 2016 and 2020, cited McCarthy’s stances on several issues in opposing him and said the California Republican “doesn’t have the pulse” of Golden’s district.
National GOP figures and Republicans who have announced bids against him for next year have tried to cast Golden as “extreme” and supportive of President Joe Biden’s agenda, even though the congressman has opposed some Biden policies and has been the most conservative House Democrat on economic issues in this Congress and the last.
The Republicans running for Golden’s seat next year did not mention Golden when asked to comment on the congressman’s vote Tuesday and on McCarthy.
State Rep. Austin Theriault, R-Fort Kent, a former NASCAR driver who formally entered the race last week with the backing of McCarthy and House Republicans’ campaign arm, said many members of Congress “are putting politics over the people of Maine and the country.”
“This mess is completely unacceptable,” Theriault said Tuesday. “I’m running to be a common-sense voice in a dysfunctional system because that’s the type of leadership that’s lacking in Washington.”
“Regardless of your opinion of Kevin McCarthy, today is further evidence of dysfunction in Washington,” state Rep. Mike Soboleski, R-Phillips, said in a statement.
Rob Cross, a mortgage broker and former Maine Senate candidate from Dedham, took a slightly clearer stance in saying he would have supported removing McCarthy if the leader “made commitments to the party” to get the job and did not honor them.
“It is time for people to demand that we have representatives that keep their word, then hold them accountable for their actions, regardless of the inconvenience for the party,” Cross wrote in an email. “If we want something different from our government, we need to change what is currently being done in DC on both sides of the aisle.”
Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-North Carolina, is serving as acting speaker until the House picks a new leader.
While the Maine candidates did not mention Golden, the GOP’s congressional campaign arm dinged Golden in a Tuesday evening news release for voting “to throw the House into chaos.” The statement did not mention House Republicans’ failure to unite around a speaker.
“Extreme House Democrats like Jared Golden are arsonists complaining about fire damage,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Savannah Viar said.