Maine Congressman Jared Golden Backs Michael Bennet for President

U.S. Representative Jared Golden, a Democrat who represents Maine's second congressional district, is supporting U.S. Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. Golden announced his support for Bennet on Thursday, February 6, becoming the first member of Congress to endorse Bennet's run, as Politico reports. Golden told Politico that Bennet is, "calm, thoughtful, honest and humble:  In other words, he doesn't stand a chance." "That's the kind of cynicism too many of us have come to expect of our politics these days," Golden added. "These qualities should be exactly the things we look for in a leader." Golden represents what Cook PVI calls an R+2 district. He took the seat in the 2018 midterm election as a result of ranked choice voting. While incumbent at the time, Bruce Poliquin, a Republican, got more first place votes than Golden did in the race, neither got 50 percent of the vote. As a result, the race came down to the second choices of those who voted third party, and Golden edged Poliquin. Trump also won an electoral vote in Maine's second district in the 2016 election, flipping it after former President Barack Obama won it twice.