The 2nd Congressional District race between Jared Golden and Austin Theriault is tough to predict given former President Donald Trump’s popularity among the district’s voters and Golden’s ability in previous elections to draw support from voters in both parties.

Where the candidates stand on these issues could help decide the outcome of the race, and ultimately which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives.

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT

Theriault, a first-term Republican state legislator, has repeatedly criticized Golden for supporting the Inflation Reduction Act – a drastically scaled-down version of Biden’s proposed Build Back Better bill that Golden opposed.

Theriault said the Inflation Reduction Act made inflation and the cost of living higher. In the first debate between the two candidates last week, Theriault described the bill as a having “wasteful tax credits and green energy schemes,” including offshore wind.

Golden, a three-term Democratic incumbent, argues that the Inflation Reduction Act included real benefits for Maine families.

In his interview with the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, Golden noted that the bill capped insulin at $35, capped out-of-pocket costs for low-income seniors, lowered health care premiums for middle-class families and has brought investments into the district, including tax credits for a papermill in Madison to add jobs making wood fiber insulation. The bill also led to more oil and gas production and brought gasoline prices down, he said.

GUNS

Gun rights have been a key focus of the debates and TV ads, with Theriault accusing Golden of flip-flopping on his support of the Second Amendment.

That attack stems from Golden announcing he had changed his position on an assault weapons ban and would support it after the mass shooting last year in his hometown of Lewiston, where a gunman used an AR-style semiautomatic weapon to kill 18 people and wound 13 others at two separate locations, a bowling alley and a bar. Golden’s change of heart caused him to lose the support of gun rights groups, such as the National Rifle Association, Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine and the Gun Owners of Maine.

Golden said the Lewiston shooting made it clear that the best firearm for personal protection is the one you carry, and most people, including himself, don’t typically carry their AR rifles around with them while running errands, bowling or hanging out in public places. But those weapons are commonly used in mass shootings and are exceedingly lethal, he said.

The National Republican Campaign Committee recently launched an ad calling Golden a “turncoat,” a term that does not sit well with the former combat veteran.

“I think they’re questioning my patriotism and my dedication to freedom,” said Golden, who has run an ad showing him loading and shooting a bolt-action rifle in the woods while wearing camouflage pants. “It’s obviously B.S.”

ABORTION

With abortion access a potent issue ever since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Golden and Theriault have sparred over the issue repeatedly in their debates.

Golden has been unequivocal in his support of a woman’s right to abortion access, saying during Thursday’s debate that he is “100% in support of women’s reproductive freedom and I support their right to choose to have an abortion.”

Theriault, who has said the values of his French Catholic upbringing are still important to him and describes himself as “pro-life,” voted against a Maine law that expanded abortion access in the state, as well as a bill to protect sexual and reproductive care during health care mergers.

Theriault said in a Christian Civic League survey that he opposes efforts to enshrine a woman’s right to an abortion in the state constitution and opposes allowing federal funds to be provided to an organization that “performs, promotes, or provides referrals for abortions.”

During the first of their three debates, Theriault said he opposes a national ban on abortion and that it should be left up to individual states. He said he supports in vitro fertilization and contraception access. But then he quickly pivoted to talk about inflation.

“We need to drive down inflation so people feel like they can raise a family,” Theriault said.

TRUMP TAX CUTS

Theriault says he supports renewing tax cuts implemented by Trump in 2017, although he has not provided any specific ideas for addressing the federal budget deficit that grew after the tax cuts. Theriault has called for an audit of federal agencies and talks generally about ending wasteful government spending and exploring ways to reduce the national debt.

“I happen to believe that we have a spending problem, not necessarily an income problem,” Theriault said during a television interview on News Center Maine last week.

Golden does not support a wholesale extension of the Trump tax cuts because they are adding to the deficit, he said. Instead, Golden wants to extend only the tax breaks benefiting middle-class families, while allowing the tax cuts for millionaires and other top income earners to expire next year. Such an approach would not impact the national deficit, he said.

“We cannot let the middle-class tax cut expire – that would be bad for working, middle-class families,” he said.