AUGUSTA, Maine — Paul LePage, Maine’s Republican governor from 2011-19, wants to remove any doubt that he is fully committed to running for Congress in 2026 in the state’s northern, ultra-competitive 2nd Congressional District.

“We’re 100 percent in,” LePage, 76, said in an interview.

LePage added that he is closing in on $1 million raised, the vast majority from within Maine, and he expects to raise $5 million in a bid to unseat Democrat Jared Golden, 43, a Marine veteran of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars who has represented CD-2 for four terms since first winning his seat in 2018.

“I'm basically running because I believe that Jared Golden does not represent CD-2 the way it needs to be represented. The rural part of Maine is not getting its fair share,” LePage said. “Everything seems

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