Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), dubbed the most conservative Democrat in Congress, has announced he will not seek a fifth House term next year.

“I’m confident that were I to run again, I would win,” Golden said in a statement on X attached to an op-ed announcing his decision in the Bangor Daily News. “But recent events have made me reconsider whether the good I can do in Congress still outweighs the cost to my family.”

Notably, Golden, 43, was the lone House Democrat to vote to fund the government through Nov. 21. Senate Dems have blocked that bill 14 times during the ongoing shutdown, the longest in US history.

Golden, a former Marine and member of the moderate House Blue Dog Coalition, announced his decision one day after Democrats racked up off-year election wins — highlighted by the triumph of socialist Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral election.

“I have never loved politics,” Golden wrote in his op-ed, explaining that after 11 years of service in the Maine statehouse and Congress, he’s “grown tired of the increasing incivility and plain nastiness that are now common from some elements of our American community — behavior that, too often, our political leaders exhibit themselves.” 

The congressman cited death threats against him and “recent incidents of political violence” — including last year’s assassination attempt against President Trump; the arson attack on Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home; and the murders of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and Democratic Minnestoa Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark,, as reasons for deciding to step away. 

Golden said the shocking spate of politically motivated attacks has “made me reassess the frequent threats against me and my family.” 

“These have made me reconsider the experiences of my own family, including all of us sitting in a hotel room on Thanksgiving last year after yet another threat against our home,” he continued. “There have been enough of those over the years to demand my attention.” 

Beyond the threats of violence, Golden blamed “the state of our politics” for wanting to move on with his life, highlighting “the nonstop, hyperbolic accusations and recriminations by both” Democrats and Republicans in Congress. 

“I don’t fear losing. What has become apparent to me is that I now dread the prospect of winning,” he wrote.

“Simply put, what I could accomplish in this increasingly unproductive Congress pales in comparison to what I could do in that time as a husband, a father and a son.” 

Golden narrowly won re-election in 2024, defeating his GOP opponent by less than a percentage point.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Golden’s Maine Second District seat – which went for President Trump over former Vice President Kamala Harris last year – as a toss-up in the 2026 election. 

The congressman had been facing his first Democratic primary challenge for the seat since being elected in 2018.

The Republican National Committee argued Maine voters were “fed up” with Golden. 

“Endless flip-flopper Jared Golden got the message that Mainers were fed up and decided to run for the hills instead of waiting for his constituents to send him packing,” RNC spokeswoman Kristen Cianci said in a statement. 

“Maine’s Second District has repeatedly voted for President Trump, is clearly ready for a change, and will be one to watch in the midterms,” she added. A majority of Mainers, 57%, indicated that Golden should not be re-elected to another term, including 36% of Democrats and 66% of Independents, in a recent University of New Hampshire survey.