The last time people said this would happen with a rep becoming senator, we got Sinema, and they based it on the same Gillibrand pathway from before.

My take is that it's something we would struggle to truly know. Is Golden's ideological record right now representative of who he truly is, and it works out well because that's what he needs to win ME-02? Is he actually further to the left and he has to moderate himself to win office? Maybe he's the odd duck that's actually further to the right and feels he has no real room to act that way while still winning a dem primary?

We do not know. We should never bank on a candidate dramatically moving to the left once they become a senator.