AUGUSTA, Maine — Former Gov. Paul LePage filed for the 2026 race for the 2nd Congressional District late Sunday, setting up a potential contest between the Republican and Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden in the conservative-leaning area.

The former governor has been mostly a Florida resident since leaving the Blaine House due to term limits in 2019. He was at a Machias restaurant for dinner on Sunday. David Whitney, a member of the Republican National Committee, posted that LePage will make a Monday announcement. He officially filed paperwork to run after 9 p.m. Sunday.

“More to say tomorrow,” LePage strategist Brent Littlefield said in a text message just before the filing.

A political comeback for the 76-year-old LePage seemed unthinkable after he dejectedly walked out of his campaign watch party without taking questions from reporters after losing to Democratic Gov. Janet Mills in 2022. But his plans to run for the 2nd District leaked from behind the scenes of Maine Republican politics this winter.

He will step into one of the country’s most competitive races. Golden is considering a run to replace the term-limited Mills after holding his seat by less than 3,000 votes over Republican Austin Theriault in 2024. Republicans would be heavily favored to flip the seat if Golden vacated it, with no obvious Democratic candidate waiting in the wings.

LePage will have major questions to answer in kicking off his comeback. He was still a registered Florida voter as of Sunday evening. He would be one of the oldest freshman congressmen in history. He was also a career CEO before winning a fractured 2010 race to become governor, smashing a veto record while often warring with legislators in both parties.

It’s also unclear how he fits into Trump’s remade party. He was one of Trump’s earliest establishment supporters in 2016. Four years later, he aped the president’s false claims of a stolen election. But he said Trump’s denialism hurt Republicans during the 2022 election, telling a party activist in an interview two years ago that he was a “major factor” in losses that year.

LePage is still revered in Maine’s Trump-friendly grassroots. Neither Theriault nor state Rep. Mike Soboleski, R-Phillips, have ruled out 2026 runs. But the former governor’s entry likely makes it difficult for other candidates to gain traction barring an unlikely intervention by Trump or national Republicans.