Matt Dunlap, left, and Paul LePage are running to replace to replace U.S. Rep. Jared Golden in the 2nd Congressional District.

The race to replace U.S. Rep. Jared Golden in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District has not received as much attention as the twist-and-turn-filled U.S. Senate contest, but the showdown between former Gov. Paul LePage and State Auditor Matt Dunlap is important and intriguing.

LePage, the 77-year-old Republican and Lewiston native who led the state from 2011-19 before moving to Florida and then back to Maine to seek a political comeback, is hoping to put the district covering Maine’s northern half back in Republican hands. Golden, a 44-year-old moderate Democrat and Marine veteran from Lewiston, has held it since his first victory in 2018.

Dunlap, 61, is a former state representative, secretary of state and Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine leader from Old Town. The 2nd District has thrice backed President Donald Trump after going to former President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.

Its swing status has been reflected over the years by the politicians its voters elected to the U.S. House as well, with Republican Bruce Poliquin serving two terms before Golden unseated him. Democrats Mike Michaud and John Baldacci preceded Poliquin, and Republican Olympia Snowe held the House seat from 1978-94 before Baldacci took over.

LePage, a Trump supporter known for his combative style and frequent vetoes as Maine’s governor from 2011-19, had no June primary challenger as he once again seeks office after losing the 2022 gubernatorial race to Gov. Janet Mills. Dunlap, who has built friendships with Maine politicians from both parties over the years but is not shying away from pushing for progressive policies, won a four-way Democratic primary in a ranked-choice voting runoff.

Both parties at the national level view the seat as a key one to win given the Republican Party’s narrow majority in the House. Election forecasters are giving LePage the edge, but Dunlap has pointed to polling revealing a close race.

As summer rolls on and November inches closer, the Portland Press Herald recently spoke separately with Dunlap and LePage for Q&As featuring two of the same questions and two unique questions for each candidate. Dunlap answered his questions over the phone, while LePage campaign adviser Brent Littlefield said LePage asked him to respond to questions on his behalf via a text message.

LePage did not respond to a question about whether he supports Trump’s actions to date with the Iran war. Dunlap has already criticized Trump’s actions in Iran for months, calling it “an illegal war.”

Answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

The Press Herald: For Paul, how does Trump help you in this race, and how have you tried to win over any voters who tell you they oppose Trump? How do you think his approval rating could affect Republican candidates up and down the ballot this fall?

Littlefield, on behalf of LePage: The voters in Maine’s 2nd District have voted three times to elect President Trump. Those same voters have consistently also chosen Paul LePage. Paul LePage will ensure Maine’s voice is heard in Washington, whether it be in the halls of Congress or working with Trump administration officials to lower costs for Mainers while growing the economy. Matt Dunlap has sided with the extremists in his party who are only interested in attacking President Trump all day and all night. As a result, he will be completely ineffective in getting anything done for the people of Maine — which is not a great departure since he failed to do his job as state auditor.

The Press Herald: For Matt, how much do you hear about Trump’s policies in talking with 2nd District voters? Which Trump policies do you support?

Dunlap: In terms of issues, the top things I’ve heard about over the last eight or nine months have not changed. The number one thing I hear about from folks is healthcare issues, access to healthcare. What’s kind of run parallel to that now, ever since the end of February, when they initiated the attack on Iran, is the concern about getting into another war, the spiraling prices of fuel and that driving up the price of everything else. It’s July, but the heating season is right around the corner. The price of heating oil is through the roof. The price of groceries has gone up, and people link that to Trump. I do hear about that, that Trump’s policies are what has gotten us here. I talk to a few Republicans who generally say, “I voted for Trump, but I didn’t vote for this.”

Mostly, when I talk to people who are Republicans who are supporters of Trump, they will say things like, “We can’t allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.” And I don’t argue with people. It’s like, we had that taken care of until Trump shredded the agreement and started over and then attacked Iran, and now here we are.

So I think the Trump effect is very real in this election, and you see that playing itself out across the country with special elections, and you saw it here in Maine with just turnout for the primary. I was walking up the street today, and I saw a big Trump poster in somebody’s window with a Trump flag on the house. They are very loyal to him. He has a commanding presence with a lot of folks, and you know, I think they just think he’s the greatest thing ever, regardless of what’s actually happening in our economy right now. 

The Press Herald: So do you agree with anything Trump has done?

Dunlap: Well, not wholesale. Let’s face it. I’m a sportsman. He is strong on Second Amendment issues … but that’s about the only thing I think that we’re probably in the same neighborhood on. He’s terrible on conservation issues, opening up all these public lands to development and mining and oil and gas exploration. Tariffs are not inherently a terrible thing if they’re targeted to protect a certain industry from dumping. But a wholesale 50% tariff against Canada to bring them to a negotiating table, I think nobody in the administration seems to understand that we’re the ones that pay the tariffs. About 90% of Trump’s policies I think are actually harmful, not helpful.

The Press Herald: For Paul, do you support the Trump administration’s actions to date with the Iran war, or would you have voted to limit or block Trump’s actions?

Littlefield and LePage did not respond to this question nor repeated requests from the Press Herald to answer it.

The Press Herald: For Matt, would you support Hakeem Jeffries as the Democratic leader in the House still? In that same vein, we saw some further-left candidates in New York, for example, and other states win primaries recently, so do you have thoughts on what that says about your party, if anything?

Dunlap: Well, I think it tells you where the public is. They want something different, and I think steering the moderate, middle course, people are over it. They’ve seen what’s happened over the last couple years of the second Trump administration, with so much attention being paid to things that don’t do anything to help us: the Gulf of America, acquiring Greenland, not supporting Ukraine but supporting Israel in its assault on Iran without authorization from Congress, and the net effect of that again (is) the cost of everything goes up. And I think that’s why these more progressive candidates have really resonated with people, because they’re challenging that status quo.

Now Jeffries, in particular, I’m a Democrat, and if we’re in the majority, I’m going to support a Democrat for speaker of the House. If Hakeem Jeffries is that Democrat, then I will support him, but if (there are multiple candidates) for that post, I’m going to (speak with each candidate). I’ve never spoken to Hakeem Jeffries. I’ve read a lot about him, and I would hope that we’d be able to have those conversations, because really my job is to support the people of the 2nd District and of the United States, not simply make things convenient for leadership.

The Press Herald: For both of you, would you support efforts to expand access to Medicaid or support efforts to limit Medicaid enrollment if in Congress? Feel free to get into greater detail.

Dunlap: I can’t imagine actually reducing the Medicaid footprint, just because so many people depend on it. When LePage was governor, of course, he withheld voter-approved funds for Medicaid expansion, and referred to things like Medicaid and Social Security as just welfare programs that should be eliminated. I think really we should go be going the other direction. We should be finding some form of universal healthcare. One of the things that’s been described along that line is like a Medicare for All solution. And I think what’s the attraction there is that it’s a structure we already have in place.

I think with the money that we’re putting into Medicaid, if you had a universal healthcare system, all of those resources could be redirected that way. But you know, the number one question that comes up is how do you pay for it? And the reality is we already pay for it in a lot of different ways. Either you pay for it through your Medicaid-Medicare assessment or your income taxes or you just pay for it.

You’ve got to pay for health insurance, so I think we should really be driving hard at that issue to try to find some relief for people so they don’t have to worry about a slip and fall on the ice sending them into bankruptcy, or being able to afford prescription medications.

Littlefield, on behalf of LePage: Paul LePage has a proven record of protecting access to healthcare by paying off a massive hospital debt left behind by others, which threatened health services at hospitals throughout Maine. In Congress, he will continue to protect healthcare access with an eye toward the reimbursement rates paid to healthcare providers to keep them solvent and open in the state of Maine. You can’t access healthcare if a hospital is closed or there is no doctor to see you in your area.

The Press Herald: For both of you, is there a problem or loophole or issue that you would like to fix or change through introducing or co-sponsoring a bill if elected? Could you get specific in terms of what your legislation may look like?

LePage and Littlefield did not answer this question.

Dunlap: Like I said, Medicare for All. When I say it’s the number one thing I hear about, I hear about it at least three or four times a day. Trying to drum up support for a campaign and especially financial support, when you call somebody and say, “Hey, thank you for giving $100 in October. Could you do another $100 today?” And they say no, and they tell you why.

I talked to a woman I went to school with who’s been very successful. … She said, “My daughter has been out of work for a couple years.” Her daughter has diabetes, and (she has) to pay for all the medications. And she said, “My parents are in a situation where we may have to put them into assisted living.” She said, “Matt, I’m in a position now where I may have to sell my home to take care of my family.” That’s just a terrible place for people to be, and (having) something like universal health care, Medicare for All, people wouldn’t have to even think about it.

So I think it’s past time, and it’s kind of a suite of things that I think about when I drive around places in rural Maine, towns that once thrived and now people are just sort of hanging on, and this is the thing. People voted for Donald Trump in the 2nd District three times, not because they were pleased, but because they’re unhappy. They feel left behind. They feel like nobody cares about them, and they’ve responded by voting for somebody who’s going to turn everything upside down, because that’s what they want.

So when you talk about the cost of not only healthcare but access to healthcare, childcare, preschool, they can’t send their kids to college. They can’t afford to quit a job because they need health insurance and can’t start that dream business they’ve always wanted to, I think that’s why I say that would be my number one priority. And I’d want to work on other stuff like it, things that would help remove burdens, not add to them.

Editor’s note: This story was updated July 29 to correctly state the number of terms served by former Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin.