Key facts
- Maine is counting ranked choice ballots to determine nominees for governor and a U.S. House seat.
- No candidate in the gubernatorial primaries (Republican or Democratic) or the Democratic primary for the 2nd Congressional District secured over 50% of the vote.
- Ranked choice voting involves eliminating the bottom finisher if no candidate reaches a majority, with second choices then coming into play.
- The counting process began Friday afternoon and is publicly accessible via the secretary of state's YouTube channel.
- Results are anticipated sometime next week.
Maine began the process of counting ranked choice ballots on Friday to determine the nominees for its open governor's race and a key U.S. House contest. The secretary of state's office anticipates that results will be available sometime next week.
Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate secures more than 50% of the popular vote, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their voters' second choices are then considered. This tabulation process continues until one candidate achieves a majority.
In Tuesday's primaries, no candidate for governor in either the Republican or Democratic parties, nor the Democratic candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, surpassed the 50% threshold. The Maine Secretary of State Department confirmed that the ballot counting commenced Friday afternoon and is accessible to the public via its YouTube channel.
The gubernatorial race is wide open as incumbent Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, in office since 2018, is term-limited. The Democratic primary featured five active campaigners, while the Republican primary had seven. The Democratic contest was particularly close, with the top four candidates separated by only a few percentage points.
Democratic candidates for governor included Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, former state House Speaker Hannah Pingree, energy executive Angus King III, and former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Nirav Shah. Bellows, whose office is managing the counting process, has delegated her involvement to staff, according to Deputy Secretary Jana Spaulding.
On the Republican side, candidates included former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Bobby Charles, healthcare executive Jonathan Bush, former Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason, former Paris, Maine, selectman Robert Wessels, and businessmen Owen McCarthy, David Jones, and Ben Midgley.
In the 2nd Congressional District's Democratic primary, former Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, state Sen. Joe Baldacci, former U.S. Senate candidate Jordan Wood, and social worker Paige Loud were on the ballot. The winner will face Republican former Gov. Paul LePage, who was unopposed in his primary and is an ally of President Donald Trump. LePage previously served as governor from 2010 to 2018.
The 2nd District seat is open as incumbent Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, who has held the position since 2018, is not seeking re-election. This district has historically voted for Trump but has also elected Golden four times.