NEW: Maine Democrat Drops Out Of Senate Race

Maine Democrat Jordan Wood is ditching his Senate ambitions to run for Congress instead, eyeing Rep. Jared Golden’s soon-to-be-vacant 2nd District seat, a crucial battleground both parties are desperate to win.

Wood had been slogging through the Democratic Senate primary against Gov. Janet Mills and Graham Platner. But when Golden abruptly announced his retirement, Wood shifted gears, saying the northern Maine race is now ground zero for Democrats hoping to cling to power.

“‘What do we do in this moment of crisis for our country and our state in democracy?’ That is what called me into the Senate race,” Wood said in an interview. “With Jared not running, it leaves open one of the most competitive House races in the entire country, and so I’m stepping up to take that on, because I believe we must.”

Republicans were already salivating over Golden’s exit. Trump carried the district by 10 points in 2024, and the GOP views it as one of its best pickup opportunities on the map. But Wood insists Democrats still have a path to victory, citing recent ballot measure wins rejecting voter ID requirements and approving a red flag gun law.

Washington/USA – January 3, 2019: Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) and his wife Isobel, arriving at the Capitol for his swearing in to represent Maine’s 2nd congressional district.

“What I hear from voters across the state is an anger and a frustration at a broken politics, and less directed at a single person but a political establishment,” he said. “Voters are really looking for candidates that are putting forward a vision of the future that they can believe in and that is addressing the biggest issues that they face in life.”

Wood didn’t throw his support behind any remaining Senate contender but said he’d “support whoever the Democratic nominee is.”

The Democrat, who said he and his husband are in the process of moving from 20 miles outside the district into it, claimed deep ties to the region. During his Senate campaign, he said he held town halls in all 11 counties of the 2nd District and heard directly from locals about their struggles.

He says his message will focus less on Trump and more on bread-and-butter issues like affordability and cost of living — problems, he admits, “are not all just Donald Trump’s fault.”

Wood’s financial firepower gives him a head start. Since launching his Senate bid in April, he’s raised over $3 million, including a $250,000 loan, and reported $920,000 cash on hand at the end of the quarter — money he can now use for the House race.

On the GOP side, former Gov. Paul LePage has raised roughly $916,000 and has $716,000 in the bank, setting up a heavyweight clash for the red-leaning district.

Wood joins state auditor Matt Dunlap, a past primary foe of Golden’s, in the Democratic field. But the party’s campaign arm, the DCCC, is still shopping for candidates, sources told reporters, even as Wood confirmed he’d “been in communication” with them about his plans.

Also circling the race is gubernatorial hopeful and former state Senate President Troy Jackson, who hinted last week he might jump in.

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