Democrat who’s broken with his party before endorses Republican in battleground race
By Lauren Fox, CNN
(CNN) — For national Democrats, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York is a top target to beat in the midterm elections this fall.
On Monday, however, Rep. Jared Golden, a retiring moderate Democrat from Maine, endorsed Lawler.
It was the third time in recent weeks that Golden defied his party, arguing in an op-ed that Lawler is the exact kind of Republican that Democrats should be fighting to keep.
“We have real adversaries in this world, and they are not our fellow citizens. When candidates for office tell voters that the gravest danger to this country is other Americans and the leaders they elect, that is radical talk, and it is the same politics of fear I have refused to practice for my entire career,” Golden wrote in The Journal News.
Lawler’s upstate New York district is one of the few GOP-held seats that Kamala Harris won in the 2024 presidential election. Inside Elections rates the race in New York’s 17th Congressional District as a toss-up.
Golden has been a thorn in the side of his Democratic colleagues, especially in recent weeks. He voted twice with Republicans to advance procedural votes, including paving the way for the GOP to force a vote on a resolution denouncing socialism. The party will likely use the measure against Democrats on the campaign trail.
Golden’s move became a major flash point within the party as members discussed whether lawmakers should be penalized for voting with Republicans on procedural votes. So far, Democratic leaders have not carried out any punishment.
In his op-ed, Golden applauded Lawler for his work with him on a bill to support lobstermen, which the New York Republican didn’t exactly gain to benefit much from, Golden wrote.
“There is not a single lobster boat in his district. He got no votes in this and no headlines back home. He signed on because a historic American industry, thousands of fishing families, and the principle that federal rules should be built on facts were all on the line. And he understands that in every community, not just in Maine, mom-and-pop shops have been around for generations, and their livelihoods make up the very foundation of our communities,” Golden wrote.
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