Campaign Snapshot: Maine Race Is a Test of Democrats’ Rural Appeal

Republican Representative Bruce Poliquin of Maine was giddy as he brandished a large pair of scissors to cut the ribbon at the unveiling of a new cancer research facility in Ellsworth on a bright August afternoon. The newest branch of Jackson Labs, a Maine medical research company that dates back a century, would soon begin breeding millions of cancerous mice, and Poliquin, the local congressman, couldn’t stop extolling the virtues of “these fabulous critters,” as he called them.

Politicians love ribbon-cuttings because they symbolize economic vitality. For Poliquin, the 350 new jobs Jackson Labs will create are especially welcome. In Maine’s vast 2nd Congressional District, which stretches from the Canadian border to the “Down East” coast, good new jobs are hard to come by. And like many Republican incumbents this cycle, Poliquin, a 64-year-old businessman first elected in 2014, has reason to worry about his own job.