Democratic Rep. Jared Golden endorses Republican Rep. Mike Lawler in battleground race

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.

对于全国民主党人来说，纽约州共和党众议员迈克·劳勒是今年秋季中期选举中需要击败的首要目标。

然而，周一，来自缅因州的即将退休的温和派民主党众议员贾里德·戈尔登公开支持劳勒。

这是戈尔登近几周来第三次违抗党内立场，他在一篇评论文章中辩称，劳勒正是民主党人应该努力争取留住的那种共和党人。

“我们在这个世界上有真正的敌人，他们不是我们的同胞。当候选人告诉选民，这个国家面临的最大危险是其他美国人和他们选出的领导人时，这是一种激进的言论，也是我整个职业生涯中一直拒绝奉行的那种恐惧政治，”戈尔登在《新闻日报》上写道。

劳勒所在的纽约州北部选区是卡玛拉·哈里斯在2024年总统大选中赢得的少数几个共和党把持席位之一。《内部选举》杂志将纽约州第17国会选区的竞选评为势均力敌。

戈尔登一直是民主党同僚们的眼中钉，尤其是在最近几周。他两次与共和党人一起投票推进程序性投票，其中包括为共和党强行就一项谴责社会主义的决议进行投票铺平道路。共和党很可能会在竞选活动中利用这项决议攻击民主党人。

戈尔登的举动在党内引发了轩然大波，党员们纷纷讨论是否应该惩罚那些在程序性投票中与共和党人站在同一阵线的议员。到目前为止，民主党领导层尚未采取任何惩罚措施。

戈尔登在专栏文章中赞扬了劳勒与他共同提出的支持龙虾渔民的法案，戈尔登写道，这位纽约共和党人并没有从中获得多少好处。

“他的选区里连一艘龙虾船都没有。他在这项提案中没有获得任何选票，也没有在家乡引起任何关注。他之所以参与，是因为一项历史悠久的美国产业、成千上万个渔民家庭以及联邦法规应以事实为依据的原则都岌岌可危。而且他明白，在每个社区，不仅仅是缅因州，夫妻店都已存在了几代人，他们的生计构成了我们社区的基石，”戈尔登写道。