Democrat Jordan Wood announced his entry into a battleground House race in Maine on Wednesday after incumbent Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) revealed he will not run for reelection.
Wood was running in Maine’s Democratic Senate primary, a heated race involving progressive oysterman Graham Platner and Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME), prior to his announcement. However, he dropped that bid in favor of a House run.
“Last week, Jared Golden announced that he’s not running for reelection, leaving open one of the most competitive House races in the entire country,” Wood said. “So I’m stepping up, where I’m needed most, right here in the 2nd District.”
Wood lives 20 miles outside the district but said he is moving within its borders, bringing with him his Senate campaign funding haul, which ended September with over $920,000 cash on hand, including a $250,000 loan.
Running against Wood in the Democratic primary is Matt Dunlap, the state auditor. The winner will likely face two-term former Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican whose campaign had $716,000 cash on hand at the end of September.
Wood criticized the eight Senate Democrats who sided with Republicans on Sunday to pass a funding bill that would end the government shutdown.
“America needs an opposition party willing to fight for them,” Wood wrote on X. “This ‘deal’ isn’t that. Sad night for the Democratic Party and our country.”
The Maine Democrat was the chief of staff for former Rep. Katie Porter and has helped lead several liberal nonprofit organizations. Porter has drawn criticism after clips of her scolding staff and leaving a filmed interview in frustration surfaced.
“She’s tough, yes, but she’s also decent and accountable,” Wood told the Advocate in defense of his former boss. In the same interview, he condemned Platner’s old online posts.
“What I saw was someone who doesn’t understand what’s wrong with these statements — how offensive and threatening they are, not just to LGBTQ people, but to people of color and women,” said Wood, who is gay.
Golden’s retirement announcement, which opened the way for Wood’s run, was partially motivated by recent acts of political violence, such as Charlie Kirk‘s murder and the assassination attempts against President Donald Trump and Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA).
“These have made me reconsider the experiences of my own family, including all of us sitting in a hotel room on Thanksgiving last year after yet another threat against our home,” Golden wrote in an op-ed for the Bangor Daily News.