Former NASCAR Driver Austin Theriault Announces He's Running For US Congress

Former NASCAR driver Austin Theriault has announced that he will be seeking the Republican nomination for a seat in the United States House of Representatives.

Apparently, he just likes to race.

The 29-year-old previously raced in several NASCAR series including primarily Craftsman Truck Series. He appeared in 6 Xfinity Series races as well, and in 2019 he drove for Rick Ware Racing in 5 Cup Series races. Theriault is perhaps best known for winning the 2017 ARCA Menards Series championship. He took the checkered flag in 7 of 20 races that season.

However, more recently, Theriault has opted to trade racing for politics. He is already a member of the Maine House of Representatives where he represents the state's 1st district.

So, he's not new to politics, but attempting to take on incumbent Democrat US Rep. Jared Golden for Maine's 2nd Congressional District in 2024.

Golden — a 41-year-old Marine veteran — is regarded as being one of the House of Representatives' most conservative Democrats on economic issues. However, on social issues, he tends to be more left-leaning, per Vote View.

Theriault Laid Out Some Key Issues After Joining The Race

Theriault filed the necessary paperwork to get his campaign underway on Monday morning.

“Regular hardworking folks are getting held down by out-of-touch, out-of-state elites who are clueless about how hard it is to make a living in Maine,” Theriault said in a statement, per WGME. “And some of our leaders are not very effective in fighting back — and I will be.”

While announcing his candidacy, Theriault hit on several key issues. These included inflation, immigration, and the drug epidemic which killed more than 700 people in Maine last year.

He also fired a bit of a shot at his potential Democratic rival.

“Golden is a nice guy, but he is still part of the problem,” Theriault said.

This 2nd Congressional District race in Maine is expected to be one that Republicans have a chance of flipping. Joining Theriault in the race for the Republican nomination are mortgage broker Robert Cross and Maine lawmaker Michael Soboleski.

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