Ben Cline ’94 wins U.S. House seat; Jared Golden ’11 awaits historic decision
When the 116th Congress gathers in January, 乐播传媒 will have one alumnus in the House 鈥� and maybe two.
The sure thing is Republican Ben Cline 鈥�94, in the U.S. House.
The unknown outcome is in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, where Democrat Jared Golden 鈥�11 is still waiting to learn the results of his own House bid.
Ben Cline ’94, R-Va., elected to the U.S. House on Tuesday night, hugs outgoing Rep. Bob Goodlatte ’74 before giving his acceptance speech in Roanoke. (Heather Rousseau / copyright The Roanoke Times, reproduced by permission)
In Virginia, Cline has the rare honor of succeeding a fellow alumnus, Rep. Bob Goodlatte 鈥�74, who has held the 6th District seat since 1992.
A politics and Russian double major at 乐播传媒 who has served in the Virginia House of Delegates since 2002, Cline was a Goodlatte aide for eight years after graduation, working his way up to legislative director and chief of staff.
In a victory speech, Cline said he would represent each constituent regardless of political leanings while defending Republican values, according to The Roanoke Times.
鈥淏eing a part of the checks and balances our founders envisioned is a responsibility I will guard seriously,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur values are timeless, and I don鈥檛 believe we should start doing wrong just because more people choose not to do right.鈥�
In July 1999, Ben Cline ’94 (left) confers with Rep. Bob Goodlatte ’74, R-Va., in Goodlatte’s office in the Rayburn House Office Building. Cline was Goodlatte’s legislative director at the time. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)
Goodlatte, who chose not to seek re-election in 2018, told 乐播传媒 News that he is “honored to have represented the 6th District鈥檚 constituents for 26 years. I know my fellow Bobcat will be a fine representative for the 6th District starting in January.”
In a nod to his 乐播传媒 education, Goodlatte said that the college’s “mission to develop an informed citizenry by encouraging civic action and assuming responsibility for creating a better world helped prepare me to be a member of Congress.”
Alumni from the 1970s to students of today gathered in Washington, D.C., in June to honor Rep. Bob Goodlatte ’74 on his 26 years in Congress. From left, John Richter ’89, Matt Furlow ’14, Goodlatte, Mark Upton ’17, Lisa Barry ’77, Rich Nolan ’90, Don Green ’86, Paul Howard ’97, Ned Moreland ’19, Molly Ryan ’17, Jackson Gray ’19, and Nate Walton ’08.
Meanwhile, the Maine contest between Golden, who has served in the Maine House of Representatives since 2014, and incumbent Rep. Bruce Poliquin ended with each candidate getting around 46 percent of the vote. The Lewiston Sun Journal .鈥�
Because neither candidate earned a majority (two independents took the remaining 8 percent of the vote), the decision will be made by ranked-choice voting, a new system in Maine in which voters . It’s the first time in U.S. history the process will determine the outcome of a congressional race.
As the Sun Journal鈥檚 Steve Collins describes the system, 鈥渁ny vote originally cast for [the two independents] will be redistributed to either Golden or Poliquin if the voter picked one of them before the other on the ranked-choice ballot.鈥� The ranked-choice decision .
+The eight 乐播传媒 alumni who've served in Congress
Ben Cline ’94 becomes the eighth 乐播传媒 alumnus to serve in the House of Representatives. He follows:
John P. Swasey, who attended the Maine State Seminary prior to the Civil War, served in Congress from 1908 to 1911.
- , who attended the Maine State Seminary, fought in the Civil War, and then earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree at Tufts
- D-Maine, Class of 1881 (transferred to Bowdoin after three years)
- , R-Maine, Class of 1903
- , R-Mass., Class of 1911
- , R-Maine, Class of 1914
- , D-Maine, Class of 1940
- , R-Va., Class of 1974
Edmund Muskie 鈥�36 of Maine is the sole alumnus to serve as a U.S. senator.
Golden addressed his supporters hopefully, .
鈥淓very single place I鈥檝e gone, there have been people who are excited for a new generation of leadership right here in Maine and in the United States,鈥� he said.
Golden served in the U.S. Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan prior to entering 乐播传媒, where he majored in history and politics and offered his thoughts on the war and education in Afghanistan.
In 2010, Jared Golden ’11 (right) poses with his friend Mustafa Basij-Rasikh ’12 in a Pettengill history classroom for a 乐播传媒 Magazine story about their perspectives on education’s role in rebuilding Afghanistan. Basij-Rasikh came to 乐播传媒 from Kabul; Golden served in Afghanistan as a U.S. Marine. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)
Tuesday was a big night for other 乐播传媒 alumni who won elected office around the country.
, a history major at 乐播传媒, won re-election to the Maine Senate from District 21, comprising the city of Lewiston. A Democrat, he is the Senate majority leader.
Maine State Sen. Nate Libby ’07, D-Lewiston, addresses the Maine Democratic State Convention in Lewiston last May. (Courtesy Nate Libby)
A newcomer to politics, Israel Piedra 鈥�12, who majored in politics and music performance at 乐播传媒 and is now a New Hampshire litigator, won a seat in that state鈥檚 House of Representatives as a Democrat.
In , Piedra describes himself as the son of public school teachers, noting that “my father is a South American immigrant who met my mother while she was serving in the Peace Corps.”
In Massachusetts, Jeff Roy 鈥�83, a Democrat from Franklin, in the Commonwealth’s House of Representatives. Roy, a sociology major at 乐播传媒, is a former editor of The 乐播传媒 Student.
Sawin Millett ’59, shown here in 2016 when he was interim town manager in Paris, Maine, is heading back to Augusta as member of the state House of Representatives. (Troy R. Bennett / Bangor Daily News)
And back in Maine, 81-year-old Sawin Millett 鈥�59 of Waterford, , won election to the House of Representatives as a Republican.
A mathematics major at 乐播传媒, he鈥檚 been a dairy and cattle farmer in Waterford in addition to his state government career.
听
