Republican Suddenly Quits Job After Trump Candidate Wins Election

A Republican lawmaker announced he is retiring from politics due to a candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump’s victory in a Congressional primary election.

Trump-backed candidate Austin Theriault, a former NASCAR driver and state representative, defeated State Representative Michael Soboleski in the primary for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District on Tuesday. He will face off against Democratic Congressman Jared Golden, a top GOP target in the November elections in what could be one of the most competitive House races of the election cycle.

State Representative John Andrews, who was a supporter and campaign manager for Soboleski, wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday he is resigning from his position over Theriault’s victory. He represented a district containing the town of Paris and nearby areas.

“I’ve just resigned my seat in the Maine State House of Representatives. I can’t be a part of anything that supports Austin Theriault,” Andrews wrote.

He continued, “Paris voted for Theriault. That made up my mind. I’m sorry, but I’m done standing up for anything in this community. I’m officially retired from politics. This absolutely disgusts me.”

In remarks reported by The Lewiston Sun Journal, Andrews said he believes that Theriault’s “handlers are going to make a fortune,” adding that Golden “is going to smoke him” in November. He described Theriault as “everything that’s wrong with politics.”

The newspaper reported that his resignation “shows that Theriault may have a hard time uniting his party” in the November election, as Republicans view the seat as one of their best opportunities to flip a seat in the House of Representatives.

Newsweek reached out to Andrews and the Theriault campaign for comment via email.

The Congressional district includes the rural northern parts of Maine that trended toward Republicans in recent election cycles. It also includes the more Democratic-leaning areas along the coast and the cities of Lewiston, Augusta and Bangor, which have been crucial to Golden’s success.

Golden won reelection in 2022. Maine uses ranked-choice voting, meaning a candidate has to win 50 percent of the vote to win. In the first round, he received 48.5 percent of the vote. But in the second round, he won with 51.3 percent, with his Republican challenger receiving 46.9 percent.

Former President Barack Obama won the district twice, but Trump flipped it in 2016 and again carried it in 2020. Golden, a co-chair of the centrist Blue Dog Democrat coalition, is viewed as among the most moderate members of Congress.

The Cook Political Report classifies the race as a toss-up, meaning that “either party has a good chance of winning.” Maine’s First Congressional District, centered around the southern coast and Portland, is viewed as safely Democratic.

Trump celebrated Theriault’s victory in a post to Truth Social Tuesday night, sharing a graphic that reads, “Austin Theriault Wins! Endorsed by President Trump!”

He previously praised Theriault as a candidate who “will work hard to Secure the Border, Protect our always under siege Second Amendment, Stop Crime, Cut Taxes, and Support our Brave Law Enforcement, Military, and Veterans.”