AUGUSTA — The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said Monday it is backing state Sen. Joe Baldacci in the 2nd Congressional District primary.

Baldacci is now part of the “Red to Blue” program designed to give Democrats control of the House.

“Joe Baldacci has spent his life serving the people of Maine and fighting for working families across the Second District,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said in a statement. “He’s the proven fighter Mainers need in Congress to lower costs, protect healthcare, and deliver real results.”

Baldacci, 61, is one of four Democrats running in the primary to determine who will face former two-term Republican Gov. Paul LePage in November. State Auditor Matt Dunlap, social worker Paige Loud and former congressional staffer Jordan Wood will challenge Baldacci on the June 9 ballot. 

Wood responded to the DCCC endorsement, characterizing it as another attempt by Democrats in Washington to tell Mainers how to vote.

“The system is broken, Donald Trump is wreaking havoc, and we need a new generation of leaders who will deliver,” he said. “The people of Maine will decide this primary, not a broken and corrupt political establishment that continues to fail us.”

Baldacci is an attorney, former Bangor mayor and current state lawmaker. He is the brother of former two-term Democratic Gov. John Baldacci.

The seat is open this cycle following the surprise announcement last fall that U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat, would not seek reelection. Golden won the seat with slim margins in the district that has voted for President Donald Trump in the last three presidential elections. 

For Baldacci, the DCCC is pledging to provide “organizational and fundraising support” along with “strategic guidance, staff resources, and candidate trainings.”

In response to Baldacci’s participation in the program, the National Republican Congressional Committee called Baldacci an “out of touch Democrat.”

“Baldacci’s candidacy is dead on arrival,” NRCC Spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said in a statement.