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Jared Golden: Veteran, Congressman from Maine

Jared Golden Congress

Jared Golden is a Democrat who has won a seat in the US House of Representatives in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. He is a former member of the Maine House of Representatives.

About Jared Golden

Golden was born in 1982 in Maine and raised in Leeds, Maine. He lives in Lewiston, Maine with his wife Isobel who served as city councilor in Lewiston from 2016-2018.

Education

He started college at the University of Maine at Farmington but ended up dropping out to join the US Marine Corps, where he served in combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He served four years in active duty, and a year in the reserves.

After he got out of the military, he went back home to Maine and went to Bates College where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Politics in 2011. He also worked for Paxton International, as an Intern and Regional Representative from 2010-2011.

Political Career

After he got his degree, he started his life of politics. He worked as a Professional Staff Member for the United States Senate, on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and as a Legislative Aide for Senator Susan M. Collins. He also worked as a Legislative Aide for the Maine House Democratic Office.

Golden was then elected in 2014, to the Maine House of Representatives. He was reelected in 2016, and became the Assistant Majority Leader in the Maine House of Representatives. During his time in the Maine House he was a member of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, and the Transportation Committee and a Chair of the Select Committee on Joint Rules and the Elections Committee.

2018 Election

In the 2018 election, he was trailing his opponent, Republican Bruce Poliquin by 2,000 votes, however, neither candidate had won the majority. The newly implemented ranked-choice voting system in Maine was used and called for the second preferences of two independent candidates to be redistributed to either Golden or Poliquin. Those who supported the independent nominees overwhelmly ranked Golden as their second choice, so he won the election. Poliquin did challenge this but a federal judge has struck down his request.

Political Outlook

Jarden Golden will be able to bring his experience as a veteran, and his former political experience to Congress. His main areas of interest are:

  • jobs and the economy
  • health and healthcare
  • the environment
  • seniors
  • education
  • trade
  • veterans and defense
  • women
  • campaign finance
  • the opioid epidemic

As a Marine Corps veteran he understands how important the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is to veterans. He will fight to protect services that veterans rely on every day, especially those that live in rural Maine. He says that he will never vote to privatize the VA, and wants Congress to fully fund the VA and hold the VA to the highest of standards. He will work closely with VSOs to make sure they are heard in Congress. As someone who has been deployed in a war zone, he believes that putting troops in harm’s way is a last resort.

Jared Golden won again Republican Bruce Poliquin in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.

 

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About the author

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Julie Provost is a freelance writer, and blogger. She lives in Tennessee with her National Guard husband and three boys.