AUGUSTA, Maine — When Jared Golden took a progressive group’s “no corporate PAC” pledge in 2018, he distinguished himself from his wealthy Democratic primary opponent in Maine’s working-class 2nd Congressional District.
In his third term, he has adhered to that pledge yet benefited increasingly from the same type of corporate-tied money. For example, he has never taken money from the energy giant Chevron’s political action committee. But he took $2,500 in December from the one run by the American Petroleum Institute, which represents Chevron and other fossil fuel companies.
During his first two campaigns, he got $28,000 from these kinds of PACs run by trade associations that represent businesses or professions. That number has skyrocketed to a combined total of $116,000 in his 2022 and 2024 elections, although it remains a small share of Golden’s $10.6 million in fundraising during that period.
It shows the many ways that special-interest money moves through the campaign finance system. This practice has been spotlighted in other high-profile campaigns across the country. Golden’s opponent in the swing 2nd District, state Rep. Austin Theriault, R-Fort Kent, has charged him with hypocrisy for taking this kind of money through other conduits.
“It doesn’t matter if you serve it hot with butter or cold with mayo: it’s still a lobster roll,” Theriault campaign manager Shawn Roderick said in a statement.
Republicans have leveled similar charges against Democrats in other major campaigns since the pledge was popularized by the group End Citizens United in 2018. Democrats have mostly taken the pledge, although Republicans including Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz have made similar vows. Some have gone further to swear off money from all PACs and unions.
While corporate PACs are set up and run by companies, they cannot directly fund them. They must rely on voluntary contributions from employees and stakeholders that are limited to $5,000 per year. Trade association PACs are governed under the same rules. Both types usually employ lobbyists who push for policy changes affecting their sectors.
In the 2022 cycle, corporate PACs gave $67 million to House candidates, according to Federal Election Commission data. The amount from trade association PACs was roughly half of that. These groups tend to be conservative with their money, giving 98 percent of it to incumbents and keeping it fairly evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans.
That means Golden took the pledge at a time when he was unlikely to gain much money from these interest groups. The situation is different now that he is an incumbent in one of the biggest House races in the country. The 2nd District went to former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, and his endorsement helped Theriault through a June primary.
Golden still appears to be shutting the door to a significant amount of money as the only member of Maine’s congressional delegation to take the pledge. Corporate PACs from Walmart to the parent company of Bath Iron Works have given $42,000 to U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat who hasn’t seen a truly competitive race since 2010 in Maine’s liberal 1st District.
The pledge was an issue in the 2020 race between U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and former Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, a Democrat who rejected corporate PAC money. Campaign finance was a major issue in the election, which smashed a Maine record by exceeding $200 million in total spending.
During that race, Collins focused on Gideon’s financial support from Democrats who didn’t take the pledge. As a frontline congressman, Golden has also gotten heavy support from the campaigns of members in safer seats and their leadership political committees.
End Citizens United devotes a section of its website to defending its preferred candidates from those kinds of attacks. It does not referee trade association PACs, although it waded into the debate around them in 2019, when Politico reported that it sent candidates a list of corporate-tied PACs including one run by the American Hospital Association.
The hospital group gave Golden $3,500 in 2022. Over his career in federal politics, he has been backed by a wide range of trade PACs from those representing telecom giants and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to postal supervisors and Asian-American hotel owners.
Golden is a centrist who voted against President Joe Biden more than any other House Democrat in 2023 — and who praised Biden’s decision to leave the presidential race on Sunday — but he has staked out a progressive position on campaign finance. Shortly after taking office, he debated future House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-California, over a Democratic ethics bill, and he has also sponsored legislation that would ban corporate PACs.
In Friday statements, the 2nd District campaigns sharpened their rhetoric. Roderick called Golden “a self-righteous flip-flopper.” Golden spokesperson Mario Moretto noted the congressman’s record and invited Theriault to sign the pledge “if his GOP establishment handlers will let him.” He did not answer a question on how Golden sees the line between corporate and other PACs.
“Jared Golden has fought for unions and workers and stood up to corporations by working to make them pay their fair share in taxes and limit their political power,” Moretto said. “He isn’t just talking the talk, he’s walking the walk.”
