Democrats are big mad at Rep. Jared Golden (ME-2) for committing the unpardonable sin: Endorsing a Republican candidate.

Golden published an op-ed expressing support for Republican Rep. Mike Lawler (NY-17), who is running for reelection.

From Axios:

Rep. Jared Golden's decision to endorse one of House Republicans' most vulnerable incumbents is going down like a lead balloon among his fellow House Democrats.

Why it matters: The anger won't have much impact on Golden (D-Maine), who is retiring, but it could blow back on his closest ally, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.).

  • "People are pissed off," a House Democrat speaking on the condition of anonymity to share details of private discussions told Axios, adding, "He is doing Gluesenkamp Perez no favors ... this will hurt her."

  • The Washington Democrat, who often breaks from party leadership and moves as a unit with Golden, "is going to have to figure out how she navigates around the suspicion this will create for her next Congress," this lawmaker said.

  • "He is leaving," said a senior House Democrat. "Marie is a bigger problem."

Gluesenkamp Perez told Axios, “I’m going back home, grinding to bring back the gavels,” and emphasized that she doesn’t “have energy to worry about the hurt feelings of anonymous colleagues.”

In his op-ed, Golden touts Lawler as a pragmatic leader who prefers cooperative governance over political theater. He lamented that “the incivility and plain nastiness that are now common in our politics” and pushes Lawler as a refreshing example of bipartisanship.

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The lawmaker discussed teaming up with Lawler to protect Maine’s fishing industry despite having “not a single lobster boat in his district” and his support for federal collective bargaining rights and healthcare expansion.

Golden argued that holding competitive, moderate districts requires a bipartisan approach and contended that serving a diverse array of constituents shows that political opponents “are not your enemies.”

He criticized an environment rife with partisan fearmongering and called on voters to support leaders who focus on results over theater. He noted that "the country needs fewer members who treat the job as a stage and more who treat it as work."