Golden’s endorsement also comes after several instances this month in which he has parted ways with Democratic leadership. He supported procedural moves that helped advance the Northeast Lobstermen Protection Act, legislation he introduced with Lawler, and also broke with his party on a procedural vote connected to a package of sanctions targeting Russia.
But Golden’s relationship with Lawler goes beyond a handful of congressional votes.
In his endorsement, the Maine Democrat pointed to their work together on legislation affecting federal workers and health care. Golden credited Lawler with helping restore collective bargaining rights for federal employees and supporting an extension of Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.
Golden also highlighted Lawler’s bipartisan record. Lawler was ranked as the fourth-most bipartisan member of the House during the 118th Congress by the Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, according to Lawler’s office.
The issue that appears to have carried the most personal significance for Golden, however, was Maine’s lobster industry.
Lawler represents New York’s 17th Congressional District, which is nowhere near Maine’s fishing communities. Nevertheless, he joined Golden in backing the Northeast Lobstermen Protection Act, a measure designed to extend the existing regulatory framework for the Northeast lobster and Jonah crab fisheries through 2035.
The House approved the legislation on September 1 in a 219-196 vote. The measure now sits with the Senate.
The bill is aimed at giving fishermen, regulators and scientists additional time to develop future protections for North Atlantic right whales while maintaining the existing regulatory framework. Golden has described the legislation as an important effort to provide greater certainty for Maine’s lobster industry.
For Golden, Lawler’s involvement mattered because the New York Republican had little obvious electoral incentive to take up a Maine-specific issue.
“He got no votes in this and no headlines back home,” Golden wrote. “He signed on because a historic American industry, thousands of fishing families, and the principle that federal rules should be built on facts were all on the line.”
That argument forms the central theme of Golden’s endorsement: lawmakers should be willing to work together on legislation even when doing so does not provide an immediate political benefit in their own districts.
Golden has represented Maine’s 2nd Congressional District since 2019 and announced that he would not seek a fifth term. His departure has added another layer of interest to his recent willingness to cross party lines.
Lawler, meanwhile, remains locked in a competitive reelection contest against Conley. With the Cook Political Report calling the race a toss-up, Golden’s public endorsement gives the Republican an unusual show of support from a Democratic member of Congress.
The endorsement does not erase the sharp political differences between the two parties, nor does it settle the New York contest. But it does highlight an increasingly visible feature of Golden’s congressional record: a willingness to work with Republicans when he believes the underlying legislation serves his constituents or advances an issue he considers important.
And with Lawler now facing a highly competitive reelection campaign, the backing from a retiring Democrat gives the New York Republican another bipartisan credential to point to as voters prepare to decide the race.
