The former Republican Governor of Maine Paul LePage (2011-2019) was unable to seek a third consecutive term in 2018 due to state term limit laws and was succeeded by Democrat Janet Mills.
[Note: Mills recently made news after voicing opposition to President Trump at a governor’s breakfast in DC during which Trump threatened to cut federal funding to Maine if Mills didn’t ban trans people from competing in women’s sports. Combative, Mills replied: “See you in court.”]
During his tenure as governor, LePage — a former businessman known for making controversial remarks and expressing disdain for the “liberal” media — endorsed Donald Trump when he ran for president in 2016.
At a Portland rally, LePage said that the two men were cut from “the same cloth,” and boasted, “I was Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular.”
Paul LePage says he’ll resign if Mainers ask him to, receives 1,800 letters asking him tohttps://t.co/l7Z1ZxldX9 pic.twitter.com/Zv4RbNg3Ll
— Boston.com (@BostonDotCom) June 30, 2016
LePage, 76, is now considering a 2026 run for Congress in Maine’s rural 2nd District, according to Fox News reporting on Friday.
The incumbent is moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, a 42-year-old Marine veteran who won his fourth term in Congress by narrowly defeating Republican state representative Austin Theriault, who was endorsed by Trump.
(Golden’s district was carried by Trump in both the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections.)
Setting aside the specifics, this is absolutely the right idea for Dems on trade and tariffs: be bold instead of nitpicking whatever Trump says. @RepGolden gets it.https://t.co/JMLFweKhN1
— Scott Paul (@ScottPaulAAM) January 16, 2025
If LePage is successful in a GOP primary, he may not face the incumbent Golden in the general election. Various reports point to Golden pursuing a run for governor with Mills now facing the same term limits that LePage faced in 2018.