Maine Democrat Jordan Wood said Wednesday that he was ending his campaign for Senate and would instead run for the battleground House seat that moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden is vacating. “Mainers are working harder than ever and still falling behind because Washington is rigged against them,” Wood said in a statement. “After many conversations with my family and voters in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, I’ve decided to step up and to be the fighter for the district where I was born and raised.” Wood launched his challenge to GOP Sen. Susan Collins in April and has raised more than $3 million in the months since. But he struggled to break out in the primary the way fellow Democrat Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and first-time candidate, has since entering the race in August. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who is term-limited in her current role, launched her own Senate bid last month, and the primary discourse has largely focused around her and Platner. A former Capitol Hill aide who was chief of staff to then-California Rep. Katie Porter, Wood has, throughout his Senate campaign, called for new leadership in the Democratic Party. He held town halls across the state, which he said has helped build the basis of a campaign that can hold the 2nd District seat for Democrats. Despite his experience working in Washington, Wood has positioned himself as a disruptor. “We need a Congress that challenges the status quo, takes on the entrenched party establishments, and breaks the cycle of political corruption,” he said in his Wednesday statement. The sprawling 2nd District, which includes much of the state outside of the Portland and Augusta areas, became open after Golden said last week he would not run for a fifth term next year. The congressman, who sometimes bucks his party on major votes, cited threats of political violence against his family among his reasons for not running, adding that he had come to “dread the prospect of winning.” Wood enters a Democratic primary that already includes state Auditor Matt Dunlap. On the Republican side, former Gov. Paul LePage has cleared the field. In his retirement announcement, Golden said he hoped his exit “makes space for a competitive primary for both Democrats and Republicans, as Paul LePage and Matt Dunlap are a far cry from being standard bearers of the generations that will inherit the legacy of today’s Congress.” Holding the 2nd District without Golden on the ballot would likely be an uphill climb for Democrats. President Donald Trump has carried the district in each of his three elections, including by 9 points last year as Golden won a fourth term by less than a point. Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales shifted its 2nd District race rating last week to Likely Republican. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene said in an interview last week after Golden’s announcement that Democrats would “work to recruit great candidates” and had "every intention of holding that seat again.” Wood’s entrance into the race doesn’t impact the DCCC’s ongoing recruitment efforts in the district, a source familiar with the matter told CQ Roll Call.
