Maine’s closely watched 2nd District congressional race is rapidly changing following Rep. Jared Golden’s announcement last week that he wouldn’t be seeking a fifth term.

On Wednesday, former U.S. Senate candidate Jordan Wood announced he would be switching races to run for the 2nd District seat. And there’s plenty of speculation about other Democrats getting in the race, too, with former Maine Senate President and current gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson at the top of the list.

State Sen. Joe Baldacci, D-Bangor, said Wednesday he’s thinking about a run but is waiting on Jackson before making a decision.

National Democrats say they are recruiting for the seat, which could be difficult to win opposite former two-term Republican Gov. Paul LePage. The 2nd District represents a more rural, conservative part of Maine where President Donald Trump has won three times.

“Right now I think you’d have to say for sure that the race leans Republican, maybe even does more than lean,” said Mark Brewer, a professor and chair of the political science department at the University of Maine. “But that doesn’t mean it’s going to stay that way.”

OPEN RACE COULD ATTRACT CANDIDATES

Before his announcement last week, Golden was already facing primary challenges from state auditor and former secretary of state Matthew Dunlap and Louis Sigel, a little-known former secretary of the Kennebec County Democratic Committee.

Many high-profile Democrats, perhaps not wanting to challenge an incumbent seeking reelection, chose instead to get into the open governor’s race to replace Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who is prevented from seeking reelection due to term limits and is running for U.S. Senate.

They include Jackson, whose name has been floated as someone who might instead get into the 2nd District race. Jackson is a logger from Allagash — in far northern Aroostook County — who spent 20 years as a state representative and senator and served three consecutive terms as Senate president up until 2024, when he was termed out.

He previously ran for the 2nd District seat in 2014, but lost the primary to Emily Cain, a former state lawmaker from Orono who was then defeated by Republican Bruce Poliquin.

Jackson said last week that he had been getting outreach from people asking if he planned to switch races after Golden dropped out, but didn’t say if he was thinking about it.

A spokesperson did not respond Wednesday to a voicemail asking if Jackson’s thinking on the 2nd District race has changed at all, and if he has been in touch with national Democrats about a possible switch.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a national group working to elect Democrats to the U.S. House, is “actively recruiting” for the seat, said a person familiar with the committee’s work who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the conversations.

They said Wood’s entrance into the race does not impact those recruiting efforts.

WHO ELSE MIGHT RUN?

Brewer, from the University of Maine, doesn’t think it would hurt Jackson or Wood to switch races since the 2nd District seat only just became open. In the governor’s race, Jackson is in a competitive primary with four other high-profile Democrats, among whom he is the only “clear fit” for the 2nd District, Brewer said.

“He’s won multiple legislative races and has been a key part of that district for years,” Brewer said. “He is maybe the kind of mix that could pull off a Democratic victory in what’s increasingly a Republican 2nd District. So I’m sure a lot of Democrats are looking at Jackson as a possibility.”

Baldacci, who is in his third term as a state senator, formerly served 12 years on the Bangor City Council, including two terms as mayor and council chair. His brother, John Baldacci, was the 2nd District representative from 1995 to 2003, and then served two terms as governor.

Joe Baldacci said Wednesday that he has interest in the seat and has thought about running but is waiting to see if Jackson gets in.

“He’s a close friend of mine and I want to see how things shake out,” he said. “I’ve said I would support him.”

Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis, whose name has also been floated as someone who is interested in running, did not respond to an email or voicemail Wednesday.

Prior to Golden’s election in 2018, Poliquin held the 2nd District seat from 2015 to 2019. Mike Michaud, another moderate Democrat who held the seat for 12 years before Poliquin, endorsed Dunlap before Golden dropped out.

Dunlap reacted to news of another candidate getting in the race Wednesday by saying it doesn’t change his campaign.

“I’m running to deliver a people’s agenda — affordable health care, child care, and living wages for working families,” he said in a written statement.

Republicans, meanwhile, remain confident in their chances.

“Mainers will pick a job creator, Paul LePage, who will grow the economy and push back on high prices,” Brent Littlefield, a campaign strategist for LePage, said in a written statement.