AUGUSTA, Maine — Jared Golden embraced a progressive group’s “no corporate PACs” pledge in 2018, setting himself apart from his wealthy Democratic primary opponent in Maine’s working-class 2nd Congressional District.
Now in his third term, Trump has kept his promise while increasingly benefiting from similar corporate-linked funding. For example, Trump has never accepted money from the energy giant Chevron’s political action committee, but he received $2,500 in December from a committee run by the American Petroleum Institute, which represents Chevron and other fossil fuel companies.
In his first two election cycles, he raised $28,000 from such PACs run by trade groups representing businesses and professionals. That amount jumped to a total of $116,000 for the 2022 and 2024 elections, but it’s still a fraction of the $10.6 million Golden raised during that period.
It’s indicative of the many different ways special interest money moves through the campaign finance system — a practice that has been highlighted in other high-profile campaigns across the country. Golden’s opponent in the 2nd Congressional District, Republican Rep. Austin Theriault of Fort Kent, has accused Golden of hypocrisy for receiving this type of money through other channels.
“Warm and buttered or cold and mayonnaiseed, it’s still a lobster roll,” Theriault’s campaign manager Sean Roderick said in a statement.
Since the group End Citizens United popularized the pledge in 2018, Republicans have made similar accusations against Democrats in other major campaigns. While it has been made primarily by Democrats, Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, have also made similar pledges. Some have gone further, pledging to cut off funding from all political action committees and labor unions.
Corporate PACs are created and run by companies, but cannot be directly funded by them. They must rely on voluntary contributions from employees and stakeholders, which are limited to $5,000 per year. Trade association PACs operate by the same rules. Both types typically hire lobbyists to push for policy changes that affect their industry.
In the 2022 election cycle, corporate PACs have donated $67 million to House candidates, with roughly half that amount coming from trade group PACs, according to data from the Federal Election Commission. These groups tend to spend their money conservatively, giving 98% of it to incumbents and splitting it roughly evenly between Democrats and Republicans.
So Mr. Golden made the pledge at a time when he was unlikely to receive much money from those interest groups. But now that he’s an incumbent in one of the largest congressional races in the country, things are different: The 2nd District was won by former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, and his support helped Mr. Theriault survive the June primary.
Golden, the only member of Maine’s congressional delegation to have pledged a donation, still appears to be refusing to give big money. Corporate political action committees ranging from Walmart to the parent company of Bath Iron Works have given $42,000 to Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat who hasn’t had a truly competitive race in Maine’s liberal 1st Congressional District since 2010.
The pledge was a key issue in the 2020 presidential race between Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and former Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon, a Democrat who rejected funding from corporate political action committees. Campaign finances were a major issue in the election, with total spending exceeding $200 million, a record for the state of Maine.
During the campaign, Collins focused on funding Gideon from Democrats who had not pledged, while Golden, as a frontline House member, also has significant support from the campaigns of lawmakers in safer districts and their leadership political committees.
End Citizens United dedicates part of its website to defending candidates it supports from such attacks. The group doesn’t adjudicate trade group PACs, but it weighed in on the debate in 2019 when Politico reported that the group had sent candidates a list of corporate PACs, including one run by the American Hospital Association.
The hospital group gave Golden $3,500 in 2022. Throughout his career in federal politics, he has received support from a wide range of industry PACs, from telecommunications giants and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to postal inspectors and Asian American hoteliers.
Golden is a centrist who voted more against President Joe Biden in 2023 than any other House Democrat and praised Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race on Sunday, but has maintained progressive positions on campaign finance. Shortly after taking office, he debated future House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over the Democratic ethics bill and has also introduced legislation to ban corporate political action committees.
In statements Friday, the 2nd District campaign stepped up the rhetoric. Roderick called Golden a “smug, duplicitous man.” Golden spokesman Mario Moretto noted the congressman’s record and asked Theriault to sign the pledge “if the Republican establishment will allow it.” He did not respond to a question about where Golden sees the line between corporate and other PACs.
“Jared Golden has fought for unions and workers, and has stood up to corporations by making them pay their fair share of taxes and working to limit their political power,” Mullet said. “He doesn’t just talk, he walks the talk.”
