AUGUSTA, Maine — State auditor Matt Dunlap said Tuesday that he's considering a run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Maine's 2nd Congressional District.
Democrat Jared Golden has held Maine's 2nd Congressional District seat since 2018. Golden was reelected to a fourth consecutive term in November, keeping his seat in a district that backed President Donald Trump.
Dunlap, also a Democrat, served four terms in the Maine House of Representative before serving seven terms as secretary of state.
He was appointed state auditor by the Maine Legislature in 2020 but had to step down in 2021 after failing two exams needed to become a certified public accountant, a requirement for the post. He was reappointed to the position in 2022.
Dunlap also mounted an unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate in 2012, losing to independent Angus King.
“Jared has nothing to do with it," Dunlap told NEWS CENTER Maine when asked why he was considering a 2nd Congressional District campaign. "I think there’s a lot of frustration in the country right now. I share that with what’s happening on the national scene and the international scene. I love my job, and this is one of the reasons I want to take some time and weigh this out and see if it’s a real thing—if people would actually be supportive of it.”
Maine's 2nd Congressional District is typically described as a swing district.
The region spans a vast geographic landscape of Maine that includes a handful of small cities, including Bangor and Lewiston, but is perhaps best known as the home of traditional northern New England industries such as lobster fishing and logging.
“The 2nd Congressional District is not a hostile wilderness. It’s people who are my friends, my neighbors, I know them," Dunlap, who lives in Old Town, said. "I don’t think there’s a community in the 2nd Congressional District that I would not feel welcome in, so I’m not concerned about the political demographics. It’s really about listening to people, hearing what they say, and then thinking about that and crafting it into a policy message that you can read back to them and they can agree with.”
Dunlap added that he does not have an exact timeline for when he could officially announce his candidacy.
“I want to have some more conversations," he said. "One of the reasons why I did it this way is that when you announce a campaign you have to have a lot of infrastructure behind you. So the early indications are right now that I have the support, but then you’ve gotta build the infrastructure.”
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