Maine State Auditor Matt Dunlap won the Democratic primary for the state’s 2nd District, a blow to party leaders who backed one of his opponents in the top House battleground.

Dunlap, who emerged victorious from a ranked choice runoff early Friday morning, will face former GOP Gov. Paul LePage in a seat that is a priority target for both parties nationally.

Republicans are optimistic they can flip the district after Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), who has represented the 2nd District since 2019, opted not to seek reelection this fall. President Donald Trump has won the district three times, including by 9 points in 2024.

Dunlap, who previously served as secretary of state and was backed by the Bernie Sanders-linked Our Revolution, originally jumped into the race to challenge Golden before the incumbent announced in November he would not run. His decision to challenge Golden irked national Democrats, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee backing one of his primary opponents, state Sen. Joe Baldacci.

Dunlap, however, ended up receiving outside backing from a group, Real Change PAC, which seemed to have ties to Republicans and spent more than $500,000 to boost him and attack Baldacci.

The race was closely fought between Dunlap, Baldacci and former congressional chief of staff Jordan Wood, with the three candidates finishing within 3 percentage points of each other in the June 9 primary. A fourth candidate, Paige Loud, finished the first round with just 10 percent of the vote.

Dunlap faces a tough general election against LePage, the former two-term governor who remains popular with the GOP base — and won the 2nd District in his 2022 attempt at a gubernatorial comeback even as he lost statewide that year.

Forrás