Vice President JD Vance touted President Donald Trump’s economic agenda in Brewer, Maine, on Monday, appearing with former Republican Governor Paul LePage, who is seeking a political comeback in the midterm elections. LePage is running in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District against Democrat Matthew Dunlap. Democratic Representative Jared Golden, a moderate, currently holds the seat and decided to retire at the end of his term rather than seek a fifth term in Congress.
The district generally favors Republicans but has backed some Democrats, including Golden, as Maine has a notable independent streak. Republicans believe LePage has a strong chance of flipping the seat without Golden on the ballot because of its conservative lean—it backed Trump by 9 points in the 2024 election. But Democrats do view the race as competitive, as Golden has been able to win the district, and analysts expect the national environment to favor Democrats amid Trump’s declining national approval rating.
Vance spoke in support of LePage during the event at a defense manufacturing facility in Brewer, a suburb of Bangor, on Monday. He is not a go-along-to-get-along politician. He is an independent-minded guy, but he is independent for you.
There is one thing I know, that Paul cares about and that’s fighting hard for his people every single day. We’ve got to send Paul LePage to Congress,” Vance said. The race is expected to be among the most competitive of the midterms.
LePage brings high name recognition from his tenure as governor from 2011 to 2019, while Dunlap currently serves as state auditor and previously served as secretary of state. Dunlap campaign manager Harry Burke told Newsweek on Monday that Maine voters “understand the disaster Paul LePage would be in Congress.” “LePage supported Medicaid cuts that are shutting down clinics, tariffs that are jacking up prices, and an unnecessary foreign war that’s made winter heating oil less affordable,” he said. It won't work because Mainers want a fighter like Matt Dunlap who will lower costs and protect Social Security and Medicaid." Newsweek also reached out to the LePage campaign for comment via email.
Recent independent polling on the race is slim, but internal polling has been done over the last few months. The latest independent polling of the race was released in February, when the University of New Hampshire released a survey showing LePage up one point, 47 percent to 46 percent. The survey was conducted from February 12 to 16, 2026, and included 522 likely voters in the second district, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
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