Jared Golden

Jared Forrest Golden (born July 25, 1982) is an American politician and veteran serving as the U.S. Representative for Maine's 2nd congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, his district, the largest east of the Mississippi River, covers the northern four-fifths of the state, including Lewiston, Bangor and Auburn. Golden is the first member of Congress elected by ranked-choice voting.[1] He was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as a United States Marine.

Jared Golden
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maine's 2nd district
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byBruce Poliquin
Member of the Maine House of Representatives
from the 60th district
In office
December 3, 2014 – December 5, 2018
Preceded byNate Libby
Succeeded byKristen Cloutier
Personal details
Born
Jared Forrest Golden

(1982-07-25) July 25, 1982
Lewiston, Maine, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Isobel Moiles
(
m. 2015)
Alma materBates College (BA)
WebsiteHouse website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Marine Corps
Years of service2002–2006
Battles/warsWar in Afghanistan
War in Iraq

Early life

Golden was born in Lewiston and raised in Leeds.[2] He attended Leavitt Area High School. Golden enrolled as a student at the University of Maine at Farmington but left without finishing a degree to join the United States Marine Corps in 2002, serving combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.[3][4][5]

After returning home to Maine, Golden attended Bates College, graduating with a degree in history and politics.[6] He went on to work for an international logistics firm and then for Maine's Republican Senator Susan Collins on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.[7][5]

Maine House of Representatives

Golden returned to Maine in 2013 to work for the House Democratic Office in the Maine Legislature. As a Democrat, Golden ran and was elected to the Maine House in 2014, representing part of the city of Lewiston. He was reelected in 2016. In the subsequent legislative session, he became Assistant Majority Leader in the Maine House of Representatives.[4]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections
See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine § District 2

On August 24, 2017, Golden announced his candidacy against Bruce Poliquin to serve in the United States House of Representatives for Maine's 2nd congressional district.[4] On June 20, 2018, he was declared the winner of the Democratic primary.[8]

On election night, Golden trailed Poliquin by 2,000 votes. As neither candidate won a majority, Maine's newly implemented ranked-choice voting system called for the votes of independents Tiffany Bond and William Hoar to be redistributed to Poliquin or Golden in accordance with their voters' second choice. Exit polls indicated that 90% of the independents' supporters ranked Golden as their second choice, which on paper was enough to give Golden the victory.[9] The independents' supporters ranked Golden as their second choice by an overwhelming margin, allowing him to defeat Poliquin by 3,000 votes after the final tabulation.[10] He is the first challenger to unseat an incumbent in the district since 1916.[11]

Poliquin opposed the use of ranked-choice voting in the election and claimed to be the winner due to his first-round lead. He filed a lawsuit in federal court to have ranked-choice voting declared unconstitutional and be declared the winner. Judge Lance E. Walker rejected all of Poliquin's arguments and upheld the certified results.[12] Poliquin appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and requested an order to prevent Golden from being certified as the winner, but the request was rejected.[13] On December 24, Poliquin dropped his lawsuit, allowing Golden to take the seat.[14]

Tenure

Golden was sworn in as U.S. Representative on January 3, 2019. During the election for Speaker of the House, he voted against Democratic Caucus nominee Nancy Pelosi, as he had pledged to do during his campaign, instead voting for Representative Cheri Bustos of Illinois.[15] On December 18, 2019, Golden voted for Article I of the articles of impeachment against Donald Trump but was one of three Democrats to vote against Article II.[16][17]

Committee assignments

Other activities

On February 6, 2020, Golden endorsed Colorado Senator Michael Bennet for president.[19]

Electoral history
Maine's 2nd congressional district, 2018 Democratic primary elections results[20]
Party Candidate Round 1 Round 3
Votes % Transfer Votes % (gross) % (net)
Democratic Jared Golden 20,987 46.4% +2,624 23,611 52.2% 54.3%
Democratic Lucas St. Clair 17,742 39.2% +2,111 19,853 43.9% 45.7%
Democratic Craig Olson 3,993 8.8% -3,993 Eliminated
Democratic Jonathan Fulford 2,489 5.5% -2,489 Eliminated
Total active votes 45,211 100% 43,464 100.0%
Exhausted ballots - +1,747 1,747 3.9%
Total votes 45,211 100% 45,211 100.0%

% (gross) = percent of all valid votes cast (without eliminating the exhausted votes)
% (net) = percent of votes cast after eliminating the exhausted votes

Maine's 2nd congressional district, 2018 general elections[21]
Party Candidate Round 1 Round 3
Votes % Transfer Votes % (gross) % (net)
Democratic Jared Golden 132,013 45.6% + 10,427 142,440 49.18%50.62%
Republican Bruce Poliquin (incumbent) 134,184 46.3% + 4,747 138,931 47.97%49.38%
Independent Tiffany Bond 16,552 5.7% - 16,552 Eliminated
Independent Will Hoar 6,875 2.4% - 6,875 Eliminated
Total active votes 289,624 100%
281,371 100%
Exhausted ballots - +8,253 8,2532.85%
Total votes 289,624 100%
289,624 100%

% (gross) = percent of all valid votes cast (without eliminating the exhausted votes)
% (net) = percent of votes cast after eliminating the exhausted votes

Personal life

Golden's wife, Isobel (née Moiles), served as a city councilor in Lewiston from 2016 to 2018.[22][23]

References
  1. Lessig, Lawrence (November 16, 2018). "Ranked-choice voting worked in Maine. Now we should use it in presidential races". USA Today. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
  2. Collins, Steve (September 9, 2018). "Jared Golden: From combat to candidate for Congress". Sun Journal. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  3. "About". Representative Jared Golden. United States House of Representatives. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  4. Thistle, Scott (August 24, 2017). "Jared Golden, a leading Democrat in Maine House, announces run for U.S. Congress". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  5. Collins, Steve (September 9, 2018). "Jared Golden: From combat to candidate for Congress". Sun Journal. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  6. Shepherd, Michael (August 24, 2017). "Poliquin may have to beat a Marine veteran to keep his seat". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  7. "Jared Golden calls himself a veteran who still wants to serve". Sun Journal. August 23, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  8. Collins, Steve (June 20, 2018). "Democrat Jared Golden declared winner of congressional primary". Sun Journal. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  9. Bill Nemitz (November 11, 2018). "Poliquin faces uphill battle for House seat". =Portland Press Herald.
  10. "Jared Golden declared winner of first ranked-choice congressional election, but challenge looms". Portland Press Herald. November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
  11. Taylor, Kate; Stack, Liam (November 15, 2018). "Maine's Bruce Poliquin, Lone Republican in House From New England, Loses Re-election". The New York Times.
  12. Collins, Steve (December 13, 2018). "Federal court rules against Bruce Poliquin's challenge of ranked-choice voting". Sun Journal. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  13. Mistler, Steve. "Poliquin's Request To Block Certification Of 2nd District Election". Maine Public. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  14. Murphy, Edward (December 24, 2018). "Poliquin drops challenge to ranked-choice voting, clearing way for Golden to take seat in Congress". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  15. "Maine's new Rep. Golden votes against Pelosi for House speaker". Portland Press Herald. Associated Press. January 3, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  16. Foran, Clare; Byrd, Haley (December 18, 2019). "Democrat to split his vote on impeachment articles". CNN. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  17. "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 696". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. December 18, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  18. "Rep. Jared Golden". GovTrack. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  19. Cadelago, Christopher; Mutnick, Ally (February 6, 2020). "Michael Bennet's first House endorsement is from Trump Country". Politico. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  20. "Tabulations for Elections held in 2018". www.maine.gov. Bureau of Corporations, Elections & Commissions, Elections and Voting, Tabulations. June 12, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  21. "Results Certified to the Governor 11/26/18". www.maine.gov. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  22. Collins, Steve (August 23, 2017). "Lewiston's Jared Golden takes aim at congressional seat". Sun Journal. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  23. "Moiles — Golden". Sun Journal. October 19, 2014.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Bruce Poliquin		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maine's 2nd congressional district
2019–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Sylvia Garcia		 United States Representatives by seniority
364th		 Succeeded by
Anthony Gonzalez
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