Dale Crafts wins Maine GOP primary to face Rep. Jared Golden

Former state Rep. Dale Crafts on Tuesday was declared the winner of the Republican primary in Maine’s 2nd District, setting him up for a challenge to first-term Rep. Jared Golden (D) in November.

Crafts received 45 percent of the vote, defeating Adrienne Bennett, a former press secretary to former Gov. Paul LePage (R), and Eric Brakey, a former state senator, according to The Associated Press, which officially called the race one week after the primary.

Crafts, a former storage business owner, was endorsed by LePage, who said former staffer Bennett was not ready for the job in an op-ed published last month. 

“President Donald Trump needs allies like Crafts in Congress who understand the big picture and have the skills required to restore our economy,” LePage wrote. “Now is not the time for inexperience and wishful thinking.

Crafts will now face Golden in a race rated as a “toss-up” by The Cook Political Report.

Golden defeated then-incumbent Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R) by just over 1 percentage point in 2018, in the first U.S. congressional election to be decided by ranked-choice voting system.

The district voted for President Trump over Hillary Clinton by 10 points in 2016.

The Pine Tree State originally planned to hold primaries on June 9, but postponed them due to the coronavirus pandemic.