The concession happened less than two hours after the Secretary of State’s Office announced the election would proceed to a ranked-choice voting tabulation.
AUGUSTA, Maine —
State Auditor Matt Dunlap (D) conceded the race for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District seat in the U.S. House to former Gov. Paul LePage (R), less than two hours after the Maine Secretary of State’s Office announced that the election would proceed to a ranked-choice voting tabulation.
The Secretary of State’s Office said at 11 a.m. Thursday that there were 341,248 total ballots cast in the race, with 170,263 votes for LePage (49.894%), 164,845 votes for Dunlap (48.307%), 123 votes for declared write-in candidates (0.036%) and 6,107 blank votes (1.763%). The lone declared write-in candidate in this race is Gregory Ward, an independent.
In ranked-choice voting races, like the race for CD2, a candidate must receive more than 50% of first-choice votes as counted on Election Day in order to win the race outright. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the total ballots cast, the Secretary of State’s Office makes the determination to proceed with a ranked-choice voting tabulation.
At 12:20 p.m., Dunlap’s campaign released a statement in which the Democratic candidate said his team does not currently believe that ranked-choice voting will change the results of the race.
“This isn’t the result we were hoping for, and I’m disappointed that we came up short. Congratulations to Paul LePage, I wish him the best,” Dunlap said in a statement. “I want to thank every volunteer who knocked doors, made calls, and made their voices heard. Your support inspired me, and I’m honored to have worked side by side with you over the past year.”
“A huge congratulations to Congressman-elect Paul LePage on his election victory! Maine was well served during the LePage administration, and we are grateful he is returning to public service,” Maine Republican Party chairman Jim Deyermond said in a statement. “Gov. LePage brought common sense back to the Blaine House, and now he is bringing it to Washington, D.C., on behalf of Congressional District 2. Paul LePage always puts people before politics, without fail. In Congress, he will fight to lower costs, keep our streets safe, and defend our freedoms. Thank you to every Mainer who voted for LePage and showed up at the polls. This victory would not have been possible without the outstanding LePage for Congress campaign team. We are deeply grateful for their hard work and dedication.”
Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said that even though Dunlap has conceded the race, the ranked-choice tabulation must still be completed in order to have a certified election under the state law.
These developments come one day after LePage declared victory in the U.S. House race.
Brent Littlefield, LePage’s senior advisor, said he spoke with Bellows and that the campaign is aware initial indications show a small number of blank votes and write-ins may trigger the ranked-choice tabulation process based on election officials’ interpretation of the law.
“It is very clear from our campaign team’s work (on Wednesday) talking one-on-one with local town clerks, and the publicly available numbers, that Paul LePage is the Congressman-Elect,” Littlefield said in a statement. “Paul’s vote margin is extremely large. Decision Desk HQ alone reports Paul LePage has over 4,400 more votes than Mr. Dunlap. That is in line with our campaign’s estimate of a 4,500 vote lead as Paul declared victory. Paul LePage looks forward to working for all of the people in Maine’s 2nd District. He will work with anyone, regardless of party, to put Maine first.”
Dunlap and LePage have been vying to replace outgoing Congressman Jared Golden, a Blue Dog Democrat who announced nearly a year ago that he would not be running for reelection.
“Four times, the people of Maine’s 2nd District chose me to represent them in Congress. I know what an incredible honor it is to earn their trust. For their faith, I will always be thankful,” Golden said in a statement shared on social media. “I also know a thing or two about winning in tough circumstances. So, I know you have to tip your hat to Paul LePage for winning in the midst of this Blue Tsunami. I stand ready to work with him to ensure the smooth transition that Mainers deserve.”
More info about CD2
Maine’s 2nd Congressional District is the largest congressional district by area east of the Mississippi River. CD2 includes all of Androscoggin, Aroostook, Franklin, Hancock, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo and Washington counties, as well as the Kennebec County communities of Augusta, Belgrade, Chelsea, Farmingdale, Fayette, Gardiner, Hallowell, Manchester, Monmouth, Mount Vernon, Oakland, Randolph, Readfield, Rome, Sidney, Vienna, Wayne and Winthrop.
How ranked-choice voting works
Bellows said that the first step in the process will be to verify the vote totals from every municipality to ensure accuracy.
“Once the election night totals are verified, assuming neither candidate received a majority of the votes, which is what we are observing now, we will proceed to the ranked choice voting tabulation,” Bellows said in a statement.
When the ranked-choice process begins, the votes are tabulated in rounds, with the lowest-ranked candidate eliminated in each round until there are only two candidates remaining. The candidate determined to have received the majority of the votes — more than 50% — in the final round is declared the winner.
The tabulation is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 9, at the Maine Department of Public Safety Headquarters, which is located at 45 Commerce Drive in Augusta. The process is open to the public and will be livestreamed on the Secretary of State’s YouTube page.
More info about the candidates
LePage has nearly 30 years of political experience, as he was first elected to the Waterville City Council in 1997 and served two terms before being elected mayor of Waterville in 2003. He served as mayor for seven years and stepped down in January 2011, when he was sworn in as governor after winning the 2010 gubernatorial election.
He was reelected governor in 2014 and left office in January 2019, as anyone who holds the Maine governor’s office cannot serve more than two consecutive terms. LePage ran for a third nonconsecutive term as governor in 2022, but he was unable to defeat incumbent Gov. Janet Mills.
Dunlap is in his second stint as state auditor. He first held the position from January 2021 to October 2021 and had to resign from office because he failed exams to become a certified public accountant, which is a requirement. A person who is not a CPA can be elected as Maine’s state auditor, but they must become one within nine months of assuming office. Dunlap later became a CPA and the Maine Legislature once again selected him to serve as state auditor in November 2022.
Before his time as state auditor, Dunlap served as Maine’s secretary of state for two separate terms (2005-11, 2013-21). He also served in the Maine House of Representatives from December 1996 to January 2005.