RUMFORD, Maine — The contest in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District is one of the key battleground races in the country and on the overcast Friday afternoon before Election Day, the battleground was the parking lot of a paper mill as workers changed shifts.
The Democratic challenger, Assistant Maine House Majority Leader Jared Golden, stood with steelworkers union allies handing out campaign flyers near the gate. After 45 minutes or so, two Republican staffers showed up to hand out leaflets for U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin.
Golden was touting his labor endorsements. The pro-Poliquin flyers contrasted the Republican’s A rating from the National Rifle Association with Golden’s D rating. Twelve hours later, the incumbent was the first customer at a hunter’s breakfast.
“I think it’s a sad state of their campaign and you got two young staffers here handing out negative literature about your opponent,” Golden told a reporter near the gate. “Why don’t you come stand here and talk to these union workers yourself?”
