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The many lives of Jared Golden
……Maine is the whitest state in the United States. Over 95% white, down from 98% in 1909.……Maine is the oldest state in the United States (the people are old). The median age is 44.5, almost two years older than second place Vermont; nearly 15 years older than Idaho, which has the youngest median age in the country.
……Maine is middling in median household income, 30th out of 50 states at just under $51,500 . Four northern states — Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Montana ($1,000 lower) — have a lower median income.
……Was Maine ripe for Donald Trump in 2016? Clinton carried Maine 48% to 45%. Trump got one electoral vote. Maine is one of two states that awards electoral college votes by Congressional District as well as state wide. Trump carried the second Congressional District in 2016 — where Jared Golden https://jaredgoldenforcongress.com/ is seeking to defeat an incumbent.
……Maine is a Democratic state, except when it is not. Every Democratic presidential candidate since Al Gore carried Maine.
……Maine does not have a Democratic Senator. One Senator is Republican. The other is Independent. The Republican talks like a Democrat, votes like a Republican (though not on health care; we’ll see what she does about a Supreme Court nominee). The Independent organizes with the Democrats. ……Maine has a Trump-like Republican governor. He has won twice, gaining a plurality against an Independent and a Democrat who split the vote, a circumstance less likely to happen under Maine’s new instant runoff system.
……Jared Golden could be elected, even though pundits consider the district as leaning Republican. In ME 02, you need a strong candidate to beat an incumbent.
……The lives of Jared Golden.……Regular Guy Jared Golden grew up on the golf course his parents own. This is a championship level course and a thriving business. Golden was a groundskeeper in the summer. After high school, he enrolled in the University of Maine at Farmington, formerly the Western State Normal School.
……Changed by 9/11: Jared Golden left college to join the Marines. Military service was a family tradition. Joining up after 9/11 was right thing to do. Jared Golden is one of twenty-four former members of the military endorsed by Vote Vets. He served four years in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of those twenty-four, he is the only one on the Vote Vets website without details about the nature of his service. What he did; what happened to him in the service is not clear.
……PTS: As Jared Golden’s website explains: His “transition from military to civilian life was not easy. [He] took the first job he could find – a low wage position at a motor home sales center. Soon after, he was forced to pick up a second and third job working nights and weekends, just to get by….”
“[His] transition out of the military became even more complex when he received a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) informing him he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress (PTS).”
“… [He] had difficulties navigating the VA system, and struggled accessing VA care and benefits due to the department’s well meaning, but often bureaucratic, rules and regulations. [W]here the VA system was absent, Jared’s friends, family and community stepped up and had his back. He was lucky to have a job and fortunate to be surrounded by people who supported and cared about him.”
A Transforming Opportunity: Lana Turner was discovered in a drug store. Jared Golden was discovered in a pizza joint. He was working there. A Dean from Bates College discovered him. He talked with Jared Golden, encouraged him, and encouraged him to apply to Bates.……Bates accepted him, not really whatJared Golden expected. He took advantage of the opportunity. He got support both at Bates and from his home community. And he worked hard, Taking advantage of benefits he was eligible for, he was able to graduate debt free. He was able to graduate with enough confidence to explore the world on his own terms.
……Looking for his mission: Many of those endorsed by Vote Vets are stars. They went from the service to high powered jobs. Not Jared Golden, who did not have credentials. With a Bachelor’s degree in hand, he volunteered to teach in Afghanistan. That was a help somehow. He was ready to explore the American battleground. He went to work for Maine’s Republican Senator on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
……His mission: Jared Golden went home to Maine to run for office. Elected to represent Lewiston (a big town near his home town). In his second term, he became assistant majority leader. HIs focus was veterans. He supported legislation to provide veterans immediate care when experiencing mental health crises; he supported legislation to increase the number of state employees helping veterans navigate the VA.
……Jared Golden worked with unions. His focus became broader. Accomplishments were tougher to come by. Could they find anything the governor would sign? Expand access to healthcare, strengthen unions, create cleaner energy and higher environmental standards, lower prescription medication costs, and equal rights for women and minorities? Those kinds of accomplishments required a new governor.
……Mission expanded: Congress. Jared Golden became the probable Democratic candidate. Union endorsements made a difference. Newspaper endorsements, too. Politicians endorsed him. He got 49% of the vote in the primary. Second choices in the instant runoff gave him the majority.
Jared Golden’s https://jaredgoldenforcongress.com/ general election campaign is underway. He has targeted the incumbent for attempting to take people’s health care away, for supporting a tax law that gives money to the wealthy, for supporting an unpopular president. Responses attempt to tie him to the Speaker of the House. Golden, who sports a large tattoo of a Celtic cross on his right arm, is not intimidated. And the attacks have been tepid. Jared Golden has become an experienced and tough politician. With financial support, he could win the election, help create a Democratic Congress. Provide some of that financial support.…
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