{"id":365,"date":"2026-06-22T19:08:58","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T19:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=365"},"modified":"2026-06-22T19:08:58","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T19:08:58","slug":"matt-dunlap-wins-democratic-primary-for-battleground-maine-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=365","title":{"rendered":"Matt Dunlap wins Democratic primary for battleground Maine seat"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Maine State Auditor Matt Dunlap has won the Democratic primary for the battleground 2nd District, handing another blow to House Democrats\u2019 campaign arm, which had backed a different candidate.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=363\">A staffer\u2019s guide to winning and losing the speakership<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Dunlap narrowly trailed state Sen. Joe Baldacci after initial ballots were counted last week, but with no candidate winning a majority of the vote, the state\u2019s ranked choice voting system kicked in. The tabulations culminated in Dunlap advancing past Baldacci in the final round, the Maine secretary of state\u2019s office announced Friday. Former Capitol Hill staffer Jordan Wood and social worker Paige Loud also contested for the Democratic nomination.<\/p>\n<p>Dunlap will next take on former Gov. Paul LePage, who was unopposed for the Republican nomination. The race is viewed as a top pickup opportunity for the GOP after Democratic Rep. Jared Golden opted not to seek reelection. President Donald Trump has carried the district in each of his three elections, including by 9 points last year.<\/p>\n<p>Dunlap, a former Maine secretary of state, lost a bid for Senate in 2012. He entered the 2nd District race in October as a challenger to Golden before the incumbent announced a month later that he would not seek a fifth term.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Dunlap won support from progressive groups Our Revolution, which was founded by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and National Nurses United. He also had the endorsement of California Rep. Ro Khanna and former Rep. Michael H. Michaud, the most recent Democrat to hold the 2nd District before Golden.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=361\">Wrapup: Senate hits spy powers snafu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>But the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee backed Baldacci, adding him to its Red to Blue program for strong challengers several weeks before the primary. Baldacci\u2019s loss marks the second time this month that a DCCC-backed candidate has lost a primary to a more progressive opponent. In California\u2019s battleground 22nd District,\u00a0 local school board trustee Randy Villegas advanced to the general election against Republican Rep. David Valadao by finishing ahead of Democratic state Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Democratic primary in Maine\u2019s 2nd District was also the latest to feature an outside group with reported ties to Republicans urging voters to support the more progressive candidate. Real Change PAC spent more than $500,000 to attack the more moderate Baldacci and support Dunlap.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the general election Likely Republican.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial primaries in Maine were also decided by ranked choice voting. Republican Bobby Charles, a former Naval intelligence officer, and Democrat Hannah Pingree, a former state House speaker and the daughter of Rep. Chellie Pingree, emerged as their party nominees to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=359\">Sovereign wealth fund tax on AI companies unveiled by Sanders<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maine State Auditor Matt Dunlap has won the Democratic primary for the battleground 2nd District, handing another blow to House Democrats\u2019 campaign arm, which had backed a different candidate. Dunlap narrowly trailed state Sen. Joe Baldacci after initial ballots were counted last week, but with no candidate winning a majority of the vote, the state\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campaigns"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Matt Dunlap wins Democratic primary for battleground Maine seat - American Industry Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanindustryreview.com\/?p=365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Matt Dunlap wins Democratic primary for battleground Maine seat - American Industry Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Maine State Auditor Matt Dunlap has won the Democratic primary for the battleground 2nd District, handing another blow to House Democrats\u2019 campaign arm, which had backed a different candidate. 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U.S. Senate candidate from Maine Graham Platner (not-pictured) joined the Maine Service Employees Association SEIU 1989 demonstration to honor the labor rights movement as he campaigns to be the Democratic nominee ahead of the June primary. 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U.S. Senate candidate from Maine Graham Platner (not-pictured) joined the Maine Service Employees Association SEIU 1989 demonstration to honor the labor rights movement as he campaigns to be the Democratic nominee ahead of the June primary. 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