Democrat Congressman Makes Stunning GOP Endorsement

Retiring Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, endorsed Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., in a Monday op-ed in The Journal News.

Lawler faces Democrat Cait Conley in a Hudson Valley toss-up. Kamala Harris carried the district in 2024, and prediction markets had Conley favored.

Golden is not seeking a fifth term. He has already broken with Democratic leaders this month on procedural votes tied to a lobster bill and Russia sanctions.

He called Lawler a “true partner” and cited the New Yorker’s ranking as the House’s fourth-most bipartisan member.

Golden credited Lawler with helping restore collective bargaining for federal workers and extending Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.

The endorsement’s emotional core was Maine’s lobster industry. Lawler backed the Northeast Lobstermen Protection Act, which would extend a pause on whale-protection rules the fleet has fought.

“He got no votes in this and no headlines back home,” Golden wrote. “He signed on because a historic American industry, thousands of fishing families, and the principle that federal rules should be built on facts were all on the line.”

Lawler thanked Golden on X and called him a servant leader. Cross-party House endorsements in a midterm toss-up remain rare.