“I’m a sportsman,” the Fairfield resident said. “I love my guns.”

No stranger to tough elections, Golden faces new pressures as he seeks a fourth term in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, one of the few across the country that could tip the balance of power at the Capitol.

Gun rights groups, once neutral in his races, have soured on him. Some progressive Democrats say they are frustrated by his repeated snubs of his own party. Taken together, they are signs that Golden’s support could be fraying. both ends of the political spectrum, potentially encircling a centrist Democrat running against a Trump-backed Republican.

“He had to cross a difficult line. He’s trying to please all the voters,” said Ann Gibbs, a 65-year-old Viennese Democrat who supports Golden but isn’t sure if his moderate appeal can again carry him in this sprawling district.

“We’ll see,” she said. “It’s also Maine. We do weird things sometimes.

Golden, 42, won repeatedly in runoffs and by slim margins by emphasizing an independent streak that might be unmatched even by Maine’s famously free-thinking political standards. No Democrat in the United States House of Representatives has voted against Biden more than Golden. In 2020, he was the only member of the House to share your vote on two articles of impeachment against Trump.

“I didn’t campaign as a bipartisan; I functioned as one in Congress,” Golden said in an interview with the Globe. “I think that’s the appeal.”

This approach sparked opposition he had largely avoided before. Gun rights groups have transformed on Marine Corps veteran after saying he would support an assault weapons ban shortly after gunman 18 people shot and killed in Golden’s hometown last year. THE National Rifle Associationneutral in Golden’s last race, this time supported his Republican challengerstate Rep. and former NASCAR driver Austin Theriault, and invested at least $100,000 to defeat Golden this cycle, according to the Open secrets from the Center for Responsive Politicsa nonpartisan group that tracks political spending.

Some Democrats say they, too, feel alienated by Golden, not because of his stance on gun control, but rather because of his repeated opposition to the party. Golden is one of the few Democrats on Capitol Hill who does not support Vice President Harris, and in his campaign ads he highlights the era he fought against, not with, the Biden administration.

Golden’s comments in a July op-ed predicting a Trump victory — and calling it “Agree with» – particularly annoyed some Democrats.

“He’s not the darling of either side,” said Bryce Lambert, a 36-year-old waiter and Democrat from Bar Harbor. “Do I think it’s good that he’s pissing off Republicans? Absolutely. But I’d rather have a better candidate.

For some Democrats and left-leaning voters who feel they don’t have a good alternative, Golden could be “a quiet vote,” said David McCrea, a former state representative from Fort Fairfield who is county co-chairman of the North. for the Golden campaign.

Yet appealing beyond party is a necessity for Democrats running in the 2nd Congressional District, the largest geographically east of the Mississippi River. It is also one of the most rural in the country, stretching to the Canadian border through Aroostook County, a 6,671-square-mile region that East larger than Rhode Island and Connecticut combined.

“In this kind of district, if a Democrat wants to be successful, they realize they can’t be 100 percent Democrat and nothing else matters,” McCrea said.

Golden is definitely not your stereotypical Democrat. Wearing a green Carhartt shirt, Golden was referencing himself in a recent debate as one of the “two isolated dots in the middle” of hyperpartisan voting patterns in Congress. (The other, he said, is Pennsylvania Republican Brian Fitzpatrick.)

Golden co-chairs the Congress »Blue Dog Coalition“, a caucus of self-described “fiscally responsible” centrist Democrats. He has called his approach “progressive conservatism,” a reflection, he says, of the nuanced way he thinks most voters view politics — conservative on some issues, like reducing the national debt, and progressive on others. others, such as increasing income taxes. rich.

“If it were possible to speak to every Democratic voter in America, I think it would be indisputable that I reflect them more, what it means to be a Democrat and what they expect from the Democratic Party, than how the party is represented in the media or by our opposition,” he said.

Golden is nevertheless difficult to classify. Randy Sargent, a 44-year-old entrepreneur and registered Republican from Fairfield said he hadn’t voted “in a while” but was motivated to go to the polls this fall for Trump. He also tends to support Golden because his stepson is an army veteran and Golden “takes care of retired veterans,” he said.

Asked if there was anything else about Golden that convinced him to cross party lines, Sargent paused.

“I didn’t know he was a Democrat,” he admitted. “It’s hard to tell in all the paid programming.”

His race against Thériault attracts millions of dollars in expenses from outside groups and the attention of national Republicans. Trump endorsed Thériault and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson campaigned for him at Auburn during the summer.

Golden presented this support as evidence that Theriault would be little more than just an endorsement of the Republican Party in Congress. Theriault, who lives in Fort Kent near the Canadian border, says he too will be an independent voice, particularly for rural Maine, while repeatedly accusing Golden of dithering on assault weapons and d other questions. Thériault’s social media pages are filled with emojis And pictures of flip-flops, a nod to his mantra that Golden changed positions.

The criticism remained with some.

“Jared Golden has done an about-face,” said Ben Dyerwho was injured in last year’s mass shooting at Schemengees Bar & Grille in Lewiston. Dyer said he owned a gun and grew up in Aroostook County. He said he leans toward supporting Thériault, in part because he disagrees that a ban on assault weapons is the answer to the type of shooting he survived a year ago .

“At one point I voted for him,” Dyer said of Golden. “But seeing someone turn around is not acceptable.”

Neither Thériault nor his campaign responded to interview requests for this story.

Golden dismisses Thériault’s criticism as a “discussion item.” He said he expected to lose some votes, but gain others, thanks to his change on assault weapons. But how the decision would influence his re-election bid was “neither in my mind nor in my heart” when he did it, he said.

“I think most voters would be concerned if they knew their representative was someone who would go to Washington and never change their mind on an issue,” Golden said.

“The world is not static,” he said. “Things happen.”

Matt Stout can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him @mattpstout.