AUBURN, Maine — United States House Speaker Mike Johnson visited Maine on Wednesday to campaign for State Rep. Austin Theriault, the GOP challenger to Democratic incumbent Rep. Jared Golden in the race for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.
Speaking at the opening of a new campaign office—dubbed a “Battle Station”—in the Auburn Mall, Johnson stressed the importance of a Theriault victory for nationwide efforts to win the House and Senate for Republicans.
“This election and this race with Austin is one of the most important in America,” Johnson said Wednesday. “It will decide the fate of our freedom.”
He presented the 2024 election at-large as a battle between two vastly different visions of America, comparing Republicans who “believe in the founding principles of America” and Democrats who have “disdain” for those principles.
Before Johnson spoke, Theriault addressed supporters, striking a milder tone. He focused on his roots in rural Aroostook County and spoke to a perceived disillusionment within the electorate.
“Sometimes Maine gets overlooked. Don’t we all agree with that?” Theriault said. “We’re going to tell these politicians who have forgotten about us that we’re going to vote in November. We’re going to take back our country.”
This message resonated with voters in the audience, like Sue Austin, who lamented what she sees as the decline of the Maine economy in recent decades.
“We’ve taken a state that was like life should have been, and we’ve turned it right around. It’s gone," Austin said, referring to one of Maine’s best-known mottos: “The way life should be."
The race between Theriault and Golden covers an area whose geography is as diverse as its voting base. The 2nd Congressional District includes two of the state’s three largest cities—Lewiston and Bangor—and covers the Down East coast and the agriculturally focused Aroostook County. To win over this mostly conservative and traditional electorate, both campaigns have made an effort to present their opponents as beholden to national interests over Maine voters.
In a statement given in response to Johnson’s visit to Auburn Wednesday, the Golden campaign wrote, in part, “Austin Theriault was hand-picked by GOP insiders like Mike Johnson because they know he'll rubber stamp their harmful, extreme agenda. Now he's kissed the ring."
Bev Uhlenhake, the chair of the Maine Democratic Party, also commented.
“Austin Theriault is trying to get momentum, the same momentum that Jared already has,” she said.
Theriault, for his part, accused Golden of being funded by corporate dollars. FEC campaign finance filings show both candidates have received thousands of dollars from PACs representing private sector interests.
The Theriault campaign also criticized Golden for criticizing Johnson's visit despite voting to save his speakership from a GOP-led ouster. Maine GOP Executive Director Jason Savage wrote, "DC [sic] politician Jared Golden has flip-flopped again. First, Golden's [sic] voted to support Mike Johnson and his Speakership, but now, Golden's suddenly against him."
Now, with less than 90 days until voters pick a winner, the Cook Political Report is labelling the race for the 2nd Congressional District a “toss-up.”