LEWISTON — Voters in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District say they are surprised by Rep. Jared Golden’s announcement that he will not seek another term, though they understand his reasons why.

“I’d like to see him change his mind, but I understand,” Jody Robertson, 68, of Livermore Falls, said Thursday while walking in downtown Lewiston. “He has two babies and I completely understand feeling like, ‘Why put my family at risk?'”

In an opinion piece published Wednesday in the Bangor Daily News, Golden, a moderate Democrat, lamented the “increasing incivility and plain nastiness that are now common from some elements of our American community,” and said he worried about political violence and threats against his family.

“I don’t fear losing. What has become apparent to me is that I now dread the prospect of winning,” he wrote. “Simply put, what I could accomplish in this increasingly unproductive Congress pales in comparison to what I could do in that time as a husband, a father and a son.”

Robertson, a Republican who supported Golden because she likes his values, said being an elected official seems riskier than it used to be.

“He’s young. It’s family time,” she said. “He’s done his share.”

Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline, who was out picking up lunch downtown, said he’s known Golden for years and respects him both as a person and politician. He called Golden a “true patriot” whose “care for national security was a hallmark of his eight years in Congress.”

“Yet he never forgot his roots, securing massive infrastructure funding for Maine, supporting our vital logging and shipbuilding industries, and championing health care expansion, particularly in rural areas,” Sheline said. “As a resident of Lewiston, Golden has been a strong advocate for several community revitalization projects and has increased our city’s economic development.”

Several people coming and going from Simones’ Hot Dog Stand and other downtown Lewiston restaurants said they supported Golden, even if they aren’t Democrats, and wonder if former Republican Gov. Paul LePage, who is running for the seat, will have the same support as Golden.

Monica Mahoney, of Standish, and Dan McDonald, of Portland — who couldn’t vote for Golden because they live in the Maine’s 1st Congressional District — said they like Golden but understand why he felt it was time to step away.

“How sad we’re at this point in the country,” Mahoney said.

“I hope he hasn’t opened the door to Paul LePage,” McDonald added.

To Michael Frett, a city councilor in Hallowell, Golden’s decision to drop out feels a little like former President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race. Frett said he was surprised by the timing, especially given that Golden had previously announced his intention to run and “had the whole summer to have dwelt on that and made a decision.”

He said he also felt there was more to Golden’s decision than concerns over lack of civility in modern politics.

“He’s constantly trying to balance between Republican and Democratic issues and concerns, as well as trying to find some way to express his personal feeling on some of the issues that come up,” Frett said. “And I just think it’s gotten away from him, from the standpoint of being able to fight this and feel as though you’re making a contribution.”

Republicans have attacked Golden’s voting record and branded him a “flip-flopper” for his centrist stances, and Democrats have been critical as well for positions that haven’t always followed the party line.

Frett said Democrats in the 2nd District could have done more to support their representative.

“Where were those who voted for him? Where were those voices coming out in large numbers in support of him?” Frett said. “We see that on the Republican side, they get all kinds of folks who come out in support of things that they’re doing or to defend their representatives when they’re being attacked. However, when it comes to the Democratic side, where is it at?”

Corey Wilson, a former Republican lawmaker from Readfield, said he understood why Golden chose to step back from politics and he applauded him for putting family first.

But Wilson agreed that Golden also was probably tired of being attacked by people on the political left and right.

“I’m of the mindset that Jared Golden was in a difficult position either way,” he said. “I think it was a combination of things. It was going to be a tough reelection campaign. At the same time he’s dealing with a Congress that’s inept on both sides of the aisle, that can’t do a damn thing. That must be frustrating to be a congressperson to feel you’re getting nothing accomplished.”

Staff Writer Keith Edwards contributed to this story.