U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, left, faces off with Republican Austin Theriault on Wednesday in the final debate in the race for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. Screenshot from video

The last scheduled debate between the two congressional contenders in Maine’s 2nd District delivered few fireworks as it mostly covered familiar ground.

Three-term U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Lewiston Democrat, sparred on a number of issues with his Republican challenger, state Rep. Austin Theriault, of Fort Kent, in the third televised debate in the course of a week.

In the hour-long debate sponsored by two television stations, WABI in Bangor and WAGM in Presque Isle, the two men swapped charges and countercharges on everything from helping the lobster industry to the national debt.

Theriault argued that bills Golden backed contributed to inflation, while Golden pointed out that gasoline prices were about $5 a gallon when he voted for the Inflation Reduction Act that Theriault opposed. It is now about $3 a gallon, he said.

Golden said that Theriault voted in Augusta against a bill to crack down on companies hiring undocumented immigrants under the table by imposing fines on them. “Austin doesn’t even want to see us throw the book at those types of companies,” Golden said.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Theriault answered. He said he would impose stricter entry requirements and beef up border security.

Theriault has been calling Golden “a flip-flopper” for weeks, in part because Golden shifted his position to support a ban on assault weapons after the mass shooting in Lewiston last fall.

Theriault said that the gunman who killed 18 people in Lewiston on Oct. 25, 2023, could have had his weapons taken away under Maine’s yellow flag law, but “a lot of things” were not done correctly.

“We have a mental health crisis,” Theriault said. “People are slipping through the cracks.”

Golden, who also favors more mental health initiatives, said restricting access to “some of these most dangerous firearms” would save lives while allowing vetted Americans the right to possess them.

Theriault said Golden’s willingness to impose higher standards for possessing assault weapons puts him in lockstep with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“That’s just completely crazy,” Golden said. “Everyone knows I’m one of the most conservative Democrats out there when it comes to gun rights.”

“You know who I am,” he said.

Both Golden and Theriault said illegal marijuana growing in Maine is often used to launder money. Theriault said law enforcement needs to “go in and bust them.”

The race in Maine’s sprawling 2nd Congressional District, the largest east of the Mississippi, is considered one of the most competitive in the nation and the most vulnerable to a GOP victory in November, but that was also true in 2020 and 2022, when the Republicans failed to unseat the incumbent.

Theriault has strong backing from former President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana. He also picked up an endorsement Wednesday from former Gov. Paul LePage, who claimed that Golden has “caught a bad case of the DC disease” by changing his mind on some issues.

Golden, a co-chair of the Blue Dog Caucus, has been the U.S. House member most likely to vote against his own party’s stance on bills that have come to the floor. He has voted in opposition to Biden’s position more often than he’s supported him.

“Bipartisanship is easy if you believe – like I do – that no one party has a monopoly on smart ideas, sound judgment, or strong values,” Golden said on social media Wednesday.

If he’s elected, Theriault, 30, a former NASCAR driver in his first term as a state representative, would be among the 5% of U.S. House members without a college degree, according to the Pew Research Center.

Golden, 42, served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a U.S. Marine before returning home to earn a degree from Bates College.

Members of the U.S. House serve two-year terms for $174,000 annually.

The election is Tuesday, Nov. 5, but early voting is underway in many towns.