With U.S. Rep. Jared Golden on his way out of Congress, the business and labor groups that united behind him are once again at odds in the 2nd District.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsed Republican Paul LePage in the race Thursday. In contrast, Democrat Matt Dunlap has the backing of several major unions.
It’s another front where the two candidates are at odds in their approach — LePage emphasizing his business experience, while Dunlap focuses on labor.
Steve McAllister, vice president of the Eastern Region for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said LePage was an “outstanding advocate” for business interests when he was governor.
“He led the way on major things that benefited the small business community, things like permitting reform — which is going to be one of the first things he’s going to work on when he’s in Congress, because that’s something that’s coming up here,” McAllister said.
He said LePage is “exactly what we are looking for at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.”
“Paul LePage is going to be ready on day one,” McAllister continued. “He knows exactly what the people of Maine need. He’s going to be a big force in Washington D.C. Helping our business community.”
The endorsement is not entirely out of line for the chamber. Although the organization endorsed Golden in 2024, in 2016 and 2018 the chamber endorsed Republican former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin.
In 2024, McAllister said Golden ”has been a relentless champion for job creators, Main Streets and the workforce” in the district.
That year, Golden also got the endorsement of Maine AFL-CIO, Maine’s largest labor organization representing more than 200 local unions and 42,000 workers and retirees.
This year, the Maine AFL-CIO has endorsed Dunlap, pointing to his record of supporting workers.
“Falling union density has been a direct cause of rising economic inequality over the past five decades,” Maine AFL-CIO President Cynthia Phinney said in a statement. “When unions are strong, they set wage standards for entire industries and occupations, turning bad jobs into good jobs.”
Phinney said the union plans to work with Dunlap to push back on attacks on federal workers’ collective bargaining rights and address the affordability issues impacting Mainers.
LePage touts pro-business record
At a press conference Thursday, LePage cited his experience in the private sector, ranging from manufacturing to food service.
“I’ve worried about payrolls,” said LePage, who before being elected in 2010 was a business consultant and general manager of the Marden’s discount chain. “I’ve balanced budgets. I’ve hired people. I’ve fired people. It’s just part of what the world of business is all about.”
And like many other issues, he pointed to his two terms as governor as evidence of how he will act in Congress.
“When I became governor, my goal was to make government smaller, not bigger,” LePage said. “It was to make Maine workers keep more money in their pockets, and businesses could expand and create new jobs and better jobs here in Maine.”
“I wanted every small business to know one thing: Maine was open for business,” he added, referencing the slogan he added to the state’s welcome signs as governor.
He also pointed to the rollback in regulations and significant tax cuts passed under his watch as examples of his pro-business policies, though economists at the time said those cuts pushed the burden onto local property taxpayers and contributed to a two-year, $900 million budget shortfall.
In addition to his pro-business policies, as governor LePage also pushed for a so-called “Right to Work” policy, weakening the state workers’ union, and dramatically cut state worker pension payments.
Dunlap’s focus on workers
When asked about economic policy, Dunlap is quick to focus on his support for workers.
“I was a proud union member for ten years, and my family is union through and through—so I know firsthand that unions are how working families get ahead,” Dunlap said in a statement accepting the Maine AFL-CIO endorsement.
“Matt Dunlap gets it,” Grant Provost, vice president of Maine AFL-CIO, said in a statement. “He knows it is wrong that the Trump administration is stripping away collective bargaining rights from federal workers. In Congress Matt will fight alongside Maine workers to build a country where all working people are treated fairly, with decent paychecks and benefits, safe jobs, dignity, and equal opportunities.”
Dunlap has also won the backing of the National Nurses Association, the National Education Association and the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters.
Speaking at the Maine AFL-CIO committee on political education convention in June, Dunlap said if elected he will fight to protect workers and unions.
“Over the last few decades, the entire economy has slowly gotten tilted against us because you don’t have an army of lobbyists in Washington working for you,” Dunlap said. “That’s what Congress is supposed to do, and that’s what I intend to do.”
Tariffs
At the Thursday press conference, LePage was asked a question about President Donald Trump’s tariff policy, which has already strained many Maine business owners ahead of a new 50% tax on many Canadian imports set to take effect next week.
LePage said tariffs are a good negotiating tool, but that Canada is “not negotiating.” LePage said during the first Trump administration, he was an intermediary in tariff discussions with Canada, and would look to bring that experience to Congress now.
“Do I want tariffs? I want them to go away as quick as possible,” LePage said. But, he continued, “both nations have to be able to trade fairly.”
In a statement Thursday, Dunlap characterized LePage’s position as being “‘all for the tariffs’ that are currently jacking up prices for working Mainers and making it impossible for small businesses to succeed.”
In an April primary debate, Dunlap said targeted tariffs to protect specific Maine industries have been useful in the past, but broad tariffs just raise prices for working families in Maine.
“I think overall, it’s a 19th Century policy which has sort of lost its primacy in the 21st Century,” Dunlap said. “And we should really avoid tariffs, unless we need to use them for some limited period of time to protect a specific industry or specific product.”
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