Democratic congressman from Lewiston, Maine, first elected in 2018. A Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who usually carries a concealed handgun. He represents a vast, largely rural district of pine forests and river towns where textile and paper mills have shut down—a district Donald Trump won easily three times.
Golden is a member of the centrist "Blue Dog" caucus, which is down to ten members from 54 in 2009. Only 13 Democrats hold seats in districts Trump carried. He was the lone House Democrat to vote against the October 2025 government shutdown, arguing it would hurt Americans without accomplishing the party's stated goal.
On November 5th 2025, at 43, Golden announced he would not seek re-election. He wrote in the Bangor Daily News that he did not fear losing but "now dread the prospect of winning". Death threats had forced his family to hole up in a hotel over Thanksgiving after police descended on his home. He accused Democratic leaders of catering to "far-left groups" by pantomiming opposition to Trump, warning that Democrats were "going down the same path" as the Republican Party in allowing "the most extreme, pugilistic elements" to call the shots.
Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, where's it going to end?