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Sunday, May 10, 2026
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Democrat Endorses Republican for Congress — And His Own Party's Response Proves His Point

Four hundred miles separate Maine's 2nd Congressional District from New York's 17th. Rep. Jared Golden, a Marine veteran and retiring Democrat who's represented ME-2 since 2019, just crossed every one of those miles to endorse Rep. Mike Lawler — the Republican his own party has spent two years trying to destroy.

Hakeem Jeffries responded by calling it "an 11th hour endorsement from a retiring Congressmember." Which tells you everything about which party values loyalty over results.

Golden published the endorsement as an op-ed in The Journal News on Sunday, and he didn't mince — he didn't hedge. "Mike Lawler has been a true partner to me and a friend to fishing families he will never represent," Golden wrote. "I strongly back him, and I hope voters send him back to work."

The friendship has a legislative receipt. On September 1, the House passed the Northeast Lobstermen Protection Act by a vote of 219-196, extending a pause on federal right whale regulations from 2028 to 2035. Lawler, whose Hudson Valley district has zero lobster boats, co-led the bill with Golden because Maine's fishing families needed a coalition partner across state lines. "That is how Congress is supposed to work," Golden wrote. "Members of different parties set aside their disagreements, find a problem and fix it."

Lawler has been in the House since 2023. He represents one of three Republican-held districts that Kamala Harris carried in 2024, which makes him the single biggest target on the DCCC's whiteboard heading into November. His Democratic challenger is Cait Conley, an Army veteran who won her primary on June 23.

The Democratic response to Golden's endorsement arrived fast and landed exactly where you'd expect. Jeffries dismissed Lawler as someone who "has never shown bipartisan courage when it matters." DCCC Executive Director Julie Merz piled on. The messaging was coordinated, immediate, and completely detached from the fact that a sitting Democrat just vouched for the man's record in writing.

Golden announced his retirement in November 2025. He's not running for anything. He's not angling for a lobbying gig with the GOP. He's a Marine who served in a Trump district, won four elections as a Democrat by ignoring his party's national messaging, and decided on his way out the door to say what most moderate Democrats only whisper: the best legislators in Congress aren't the ones who vote the party line — they're the ones who get something done.

"Wherever you live, find the members who pass laws with the other party, and keep them," Golden wrote.

Jeffries' counter-argument is that Lawler lacks bipartisan courage. The man just got endorsed across party lines on a bill he passed 219-196. The Democrat making the endorsement is a combat veteran with nothing left to gain.

Lawler's response was simple. "It's an honor and a privilege to accept the endorsement of my friend, Democratic Congressman Jared Golden," he said. No spin. No attack on the other side. Just acknowledgment.

The DCCC spent two years framing this race as a referendum on extremism in a district Harris won. A retiring Democrat with a Bronze Star just told voters the Republican is the one worth keeping.

That's not an 11th hour endorsement. That's an exit interview.

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