In a hard-fought congressional race described by The Reload as “an interesting test case for how potent gun politics can still be,” Democrat Maine Congressman Jared Golden has apparently kept his seat in defiance of an effort by gun rights activists to give him the boot over his switch on guns.

The paper-thin margin in his 50.19%-49.46% victory over Republican challenger Austin Theriault will probably result in a recount. It also raises questions about the ability of “gun voters” to flex their muscles in a state known for gun ownership and hunting.

Statement from the Theriault campaign:

“This race still remains too close to call. We’re well within the margin that would trigger a state-funded automatic recount, and every vote should be counted.”

— Austin Theriault (@AustinTheriault) November 6, 2024

Theriault had been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who secured a second term with a stunning political comeback to trample anti-gun Vice President Kamala Harris not only with Electoral College votes, but also by winning the popular vote. He hadn’t done that before, and pundits are suggesting it was the result of people deciding they were worse off now than they were four years ago, and because they admired a man who had been nearly killed by an assassin’s bullet, only to rise up with a clenched fist to declare “Fight, Fight, Fight!”

According to data from the New York Times, Golden pulled in 181,842 votes compared to Theriault’s 179,192 votes, a 2,560-vote difference, with about 92.6 percent of the votes counted. Whether the final tally assures his victory or places it in question remains to be seen.

Open Secrets had reported that as of mid-October, Golden had raised $6.8 million and spent $5.8 million in his re-election bid. Theriault raised only about half as much money–$3.19 million—and spent $2.5 million in his campaign, making it one of the most expensive congressional races of the year.

The NY Times describes Golden’s victory as defying political gravity. Democrats lost not only the White House but also the U.S. Senate, and Republicans appeared poised to retain the U.S. House, giving Trump’s party control of Capitol Hill, so the returning president should be able to ram through much of what he has promised at least for the next two years.

Golden was vilified in television advertising, which portrayed the three-term congressman as having been changed by Harris and President Joe Biden to turn against the interests of Pine Tree State gun owners in the aftermath of the Lewiston mass shooting in October 2023, which claimed 18 lives. Lewiston is Golden’s hometown.

Golden’s change of heart was revealed in an Oct. 29, 2023 article in the Bangor Daily News, which detailed the congressman’s call on his colleagues to pass a ban on so-called “assault weapons.” From that moment on, the veteran Democrat was targeted for defeat. On Tuesday, that effort failed, but not my much.

Appearing to side with the Biden-Harris administration, the 42-year-old Golden—who represents Maine’s Second District, which spans most of the state and which Trump won with 52.9 percent of the vote against Harris’ 44.4 percent, according to the New York Times—must have gotten support from some Republicans to eke out the win. Trump also won the district in 2020 and 2016.

As observed by The Hill, “Golden’s victory is sure to frustrate GOP leaders, who saw the district as one of their best chances to pad their slim House majority. It’s also an indication that, at least in some parts of the polarized country, voters are still willing to split the ballot.”

Golden is a Marine Corps veteran and he told the Bangor Daily News following the 2023 rampage that his residence is within a short distance of the bowling alley where some of the victims were murdered. The killer used a personally-owned modern semi-auto rifle, despite having been hospitalized and examined in New York while his own reserve unit was deployed there last year for training. Golden is a gun owner, and he has voted in the past in defiance of his party in Washington.

So, what happens now? Democrats may be slightly emboldened by Golden’s election night victory by considering it proof that the “gun vote” may not be as formidable as is often portrayed and believed.

However, that may be wishful thinking in part, because across the country with the exception of Oregon and Washington, Democrats lost ground. One television commentator described it as a “shellacking.” It wasn’t quite that bad, but the election has left Democrats as the minority party with a returning president they despise.

How Golden evidently pulled this off may have been best explained by a quote from one of his constituents in the Bangor Daily News. The congressman was described as a man who “thinks of what’s best” for his constituents and not necessarily what is best for his party. A reputation like that is tough to beat, no matter how he flipped on semiautomatic rifles.

About Dave Workman