A Democrat may have just secured a midterm win for Republicans with one unexpected endorsement. House Democrat Jared Golden of Maine endorsed House Republican Mike Lawler of New York for reelection in an op-ed published in a newspaper in Lawler’s district Monday morning.
Golden published a glowing review of Lawler and their history of working together on bipartisan legislation in Congress. Since he is retiring this year and not seeking reelection, Golden is a free agent and does not have to fear party resentment.
“The Congress we get is the one we elect, and the country needs fewer members who treat the job as a stage and more who treat it as work,” Golden wrote in Lohud. “In New York’s Hudson Valley this fall, that is the choice on the ballot.”
Establishment Democrats have spent millions on this race, supporting Cait Conley to unseat Lawler. The endorsement could have undercut everything spent on Conley.
“Mike Lawler has been a true partner to me and a friend to fishing families he will never represent. I strongly back him, and I hope voters send him back to work. Wherever you live, find the members who pass laws with the other party, and keep them,” he continued.
“Thank you to my friend and colleague,” Lawler responded via social media. “Time and again when we needed bipartisan compromise, Jared [Golden] was always there ready to deliver. I’m honored to have earned his support.”
In the op-ed, Golden highlighted a recent bipartisan win: the House’s passage of the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026, sponsored by Lawler. The legislation extends a pause on regulations that Golden said were built on “worst-case assumptions instead of real data” while they wait for the science to catch up.
When it came time to vote on the procedure to allow passage of the bill, Golden voted with Republicans to allow the vote. The Democrat has voted with Republicans twice in September to allow procedural moves, causing frustration for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
Jeffries significantly downplayed the endorsement in a statement released Monday afternoon, where he called Lawler a “partisan hack and Trump sycophant.” His statement continued calling Goldman’s op-ed an “11th-hour endorsement from a retiring Congressmember who represents an out-of-town district more than 400 miles away.”
Supporting Republicans Becoming a Popular Choice
This is not the first time this election cycle voters have been shocked by an endorsement from across the aisle. In fact, it may be becoming a pattern for Democrats who are not in jeopardy of losing an election.
At the Republican National Committee’s Midterm Convention, viewers were surprised with a video from Democrat Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania praising fellow Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican.
The video said more about Fetterman, who referred to himself as a “commonsense Democrat” who wants to “reject the extremes and socialism” and an “anti-American way of life.” While neither is up for reelection this year, it shows Fetterman growing closer to the Right.
Just last week, former Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia endorsed Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, calling her the “soul of the Senate.”
Collins is up for reelection in a very contested race against Democrat Troy Jackson, once endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America. When asked whether Manchin could ever support a socialist, he told CBS, “No way, my God, no.”
Manchin, a longtime Democrat, left the party in May 2024 and registered as an independent.
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[ H/T The Daily Signal ]
