Work has commenced on the voting tabulation utilizing ranked-choice methods to establish the official outcome of the contest for the U.S. House of Representatives seat representing Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.
Matt Dunlap, the Democratic candidate, conceded the race to Republican former Gov. Paul LePage last Thursday. State law nonetheless requires the ranked-choice count to be carried out to officially certify the election, as pointed out by Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows despite Dunlap’s concession.
“Paul is already at work in Washington, D.C., while the perfunctory process plays out back home,” LePage campaign strategist Brent Littlefield said in a statement. “Just like our opponent who conceded, we are confident in the outcome.”
The tabulation started Monday morning at the Maine Department of Public Safety Headquarters located at 45 Commerce Drive in Augusta. Law enforcement fanned out across the state on Thursday to pick up ballots and memory devices from every town in CD2, bringing them directly to the counting site.
Secretary of State Bellows noted that the process is open to the public and is being livestreamed on the Secretary of State’s YouTube page. While her team made good progress between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday, Bellows stated that the tabulation will most likely finish sometime Friday afternoon.
In ranked-choice voting races like CD2, a candidate must receive more than 50% of first-choice votes counted on Election Day to win outright. The Secretary of State’s office announced that neither candidate cleared that threshold out of 341,248 total ballots cast.
Initial figures showed Republican Paul LePage with 170,263 votes, or 49.894%, narrowly leading Democratic candidate Matt Dunlap, who secured 164,845 votes, or 48.307%. Declared write-in candidate Gregory Ward of Limestone garnered 123 votes, accounting for 0.036%, while blank votes totaled 6,107, or 1.763%.
Because no candidate crossed the 50% threshold, Bellows explained that the office proceeded with the ranked-choice tabulation. The first step involves verifying vote totals from every municipality to ensure accuracy before votes are tabulated in rounds.
“Anybody who chose blank as their first candidate may have chosen a candidate for their number two. Similarly, that very small number of votes for the write-in candidate, which is what made this a ranked-choice voting race in the first place, Gregory Ward of Limestone declared himself a candidate; those voters deserve to have their second choice counted, and that is what happens in ranked-choice voting,” Bellows said.
During each round of tabulation, the lowest-ranked candidate is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed until two candidates remain and one secures a majority.
While the meticulous process continues across more than 300 towns in the district—some of which rely on hand counts—both campaigns have signaled they expect no change in the ultimate outcome. LePage’s campaign declared victory, citing an estimated lead, while Dunlap conceded the race while offering his congratulations.
Related reading
Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson Concedes Race to Wendi Rawson
Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson has conceded his reelection bid to challenger Wendi Rawson, bringing a close to a...
Emmanuel Meal Program Becomes Self-Funded After Leaving County Aid
Community Meals at Emmanuel, a North Country meal program, stopped taking money from Jefferson County and became completely...
Nebraska 2026 Election Results Show Democratic Gains and GOP Shifts
Nebraska 2026 election results 93 county breakdown Nebraska's political landscape shifted beneath a national blue wave, though the...
Don Lemon Seeks Dismissal of Federal Church Protest Charges
Lemon and Fort Seek Dismissal of Church Protest Charges Journalists Don Lemon, Georgia Fort, and dozens of co-defendants...