In the confrontation over the $ 1.9 trillion COVID aid package, Rep. Jared Golden was left alone from the rest of his party.
The two-term legislator representing the 2nd Congressional District of Maine was the only Democrat in the House last week to vote against the massive spending bill, which passed its last legislative hurdle along the lines of the party before being sanctioned by the president Biden.
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Golden was one of the first opponents to his party’s parliamentary leadership initiative to advance the bill through budgetary reconciliation, which allowed the legislation to pass only with Democratic votes and avoided the 60-vote Senate obstruction limit. And Golden was one of only two Democrats – along with Representative Kurt Schrader of Oregon – who voted against the aid package in late February, when he overcame his first hurdle in the House.
Explaining his opposition, the congressman wrote: “I know there are people who will continue to need help to overcome the final stages of this pandemic, which is why I argued that Congress should have addressed their needs with a targeted bill that extends insurance – unemployment, finances the distribution of vaccines and increases investments in our public health infrastructure. “
In this April 27, 2019, photo archive, Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, speaks in Bath, Maine. Golden was the only Democratic lawmaker to break with his party and vote against the $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 aid package on Wednesday, March 10, 2021. (AP Photo / David Sharp, Archive)
((AP Photo / David Sharp, Archive))
The congressman emphasized that “when combined with the more than $ 4 trillion we have already spent fighting the coronavirus, borrowing and spending hundreds of billions more to meet the most urgent needs represents a risk to our economic recovery and the priorities that I I would like to work with the Biden administration to achieve, how to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure and fix our broken and inaccessible health care system. “
Golden last week was also the only House Democrat to vote against a bill that would expand background checks on all commercial arms sales. And he was one of only two Democrats – along with Ron Kind of Wisconsin – to vote against another measure that would close what is known as the “Charleston breach”, which allows some licensed gun sales to pass before a background check completed. Taking advantage of this loophole, Dylann Roof was able to legally buy a gun that he used to shoot nine people in 2015 at a historically black church in Charleston, SC
Noting that “many of my constituents have a proud tradition of responsible gun ownership,” Golden stressed that “to keep firearms out of the reach of criminals, we need to strictly enforce the laws we already have in place and provide background checks. existing system with the resources, technology and personnel necessary to work efficiently and without errors. “
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Earlier this year, he also voted against the Democrats’ police reform bill.
The Golden Congressional District – the largest east of the Mississippi River – contains a number of small towns, including Auburn, Bangor and Lewiston, but it is mostly rural. Former President Trump won the district in 2016 – and won it again by seven points in his defeat for re-election in 2020.
Golden, a Navy veteran who moved to Afghanistan and Iraq, narrowly won the district in 2018, when Democrats won back the majority in the House for the first time in eight years. He became the first member of Congress elected by roll call. The congressman was re-elected last November by seven points, beating then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in the district by almost 30,000 votes.
While drawing national attention for breaking with his party, Golden also supported other important Democratic initiatives that were passed by the House mainly on party lines.
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Last week, Golden voted for the PRO Act (Protecting the Right to Organize), a comprehensive bill that would strengthen the rights of unions and union workers.
And the week before, he supported HR 1, a broad electoral reform and measure to reform election campaign funding.
With House Republicans needing a net gain of just five seats to win back the majority in the mid-2022 term, Golden is already under attack by the Congressional Republican National Committee, as well as outside pro-GOP groups.
The conservative advocacy group American Action Network ran digital ads against the legislature’s support for what it called a “corrupt liberal campaign financing bill.”
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The same group ran digital ads last week in the Golden district – before the House’s final vote on the COVID aid package.
“Tell Golden, put the brakes on Pelosi’s plan,” said the narrator on the spot.
Golden’s votes at odds with his party’s leadership also sparked conversations on social media about the possibility of a run for the Democratic primaries next year.
The first unlikely challenge materialized last week, when Michael Sutton, a Bangor Democrat who in the past ran for councilor and state deputy, filed a paperwork with the Federal Election Commission signaling his intention to face Golden.