Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, is throwing his support behind Republican Rep. Mike Lawler as Lawler fights for reelection in suburban New York, Golden announced in an opinion article published Monday.
Lawler faces a tough race against Democrat Cait Conley in one of the biggest House battlegrounds this November. The two lawmakers have worked together on the Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act, and both belong to the centrist Problem Solvers Caucus.
“Mike Lawler has been a true partner to me and a friend to fishing families he will never represent,” Golden wrote. “I strongly back him, and I hope voters send him back to work. Wherever you live, find the members who pass laws with the other party, and keep them.”
Golden, who is not running for reelection, was one of two House Democrats who broke with their party earlier this month and twice voted in favor of the Republican legislative agenda. He and Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., provided the deciding votes to push through a pair of key procedural votes in a closely divided chamber. The GOP-led bills included a resolution condemning socialism, which Republicans want to use against Democrats on the campaign trail.
House Democrats have since pressured Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to punish the defectors. Gluesenkamp Perez is running for reelection in a red-leaning district.
The Lobsterman Protection Act passed the House with bipartisan support in September. The bill would delay the implementation date for regulations meant to protect the endangered North Atlantic whale. Maine’s fishing industry and its advocates have argued the current rule is too onerous.
Lawler represents a suburban New York district that is unaffected by the regulations, but Golden praised the New Yorker for working alongside him to help the fishing community.
“That is how Congress is supposed to work: members of different parties set aside their disagreements, find a problem that matters to the country and fix it,” Golden said.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Conley and Jeffries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lawler said in a statement that despite coming from different parties and different states, he and Golden have worked during their time together in the House to find common ground on issues that matter to them and their constituents.
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