On June 9, Maine voters will go to the polls for their fifth primary election using ranked choice voting (RCV). They will use RCV to pick nominees for governor, Congress, and state legislature – and will use it again in November’s general elections for Congress. As a born-and-raised Mainer myself, I’ll be closely following this year’s elections.

Since its adoption in 2016, ranked choice voting has become the norm in the Pine Tree State – giving voters more choices and rewarding more positive campaigning. This year’s competitive Republican and Democratic gubernatorial primaries offer the clearest example yet of RCV’s impact. Candidates know that winning a majority on June 9 will require being ranked as a backup choice by voters who are ranking someone else first – so they’ve cross-endorsed each other, campaigned together, and discussed their common ground with other candidates.

This post covers key developments in the Maine primary since our last analysis in May. And just this morning, FairVote published a new ranked choice poll of Maine voters, which offers a detailed look at voter preferences. See the poll results here. 

Positive campaigning in the Maine gubernatorial primary

Late last month, three Democratic candidates for Maine governor – Troy Jackson, Shenna Bellows, and Hannah Pingree – cross-endorsed each other. The alliance was struck after the three were jointly endorsed by the Maine Sierra Club, and the candidates have actively highlighted their shared views and policy priorities. This marks the first three-way alliance in an RCV election for governor, though alliances of more than two candidates were formed in 2025 RCV races in New York City and Minneapolis. 

On June 1, Democratic candidate Nirav Shah released a video encouraging voters to rank him second if he’s not their first choice. And on the Republican side, candidate David Jones – who earlier had cross-endorsed with Ben Midgely on the debate stage – publicly announced the order in which he plans to rank four of his rivals, saying:

I’ve explained to people that it’s really important we use the tools available. You can’t build a house without a hammer or a saw. That tool is here.

Cross-endorsements aren’t a bug of ranked choice voting: They’re a feature. The closest comparison in choose-one elections is a candidate dropping out and endorsing an opponent still in the race; but with RCV, candidates can stay in the race and share their unique platform and ideas. And voters get to decide from a full range of choices.

Ranked choice voting promotes majority rule in Maine

With ranked choice voting, the winners of each Maine primary will have support from a majority of their party – rather than just a small plurality. For example, in the SurveyUSA/FairVote poll of Maine’s 2nd District Democratic primary, Joe Baldacci has just 27% of first choices, but in the RCV count, he expands his support to 56%.

Compare Maine with states around the country that don’t use ranked choice voting. In New Jersey earlier this week, for instance, three congressional primaries were won without a majority of the vote. In the 12th District Democratic primary, the winner had just 28% of the vote, and is now all but guaranteed to win the general election in a deep-blue seat. 

Other states use delayed runoffs to identify nominees with majority support, but runoffs come with their own problems. Voters must return to the polls, taxpayers and campaigns must fund another election for the same seat, and turnout usually plummets. For instance, this spring, Texas Republicans endured an extra 12 weeks of toxic campaigning for a U.S. Senate runoff in which 778,139 fewer voters participated.

More states should follow Maine’s lead by adopting ranked choice voting. It’s a win-win for voters and candidates alike – making campaigns more positive and ensuring winners have majority support, without the downsides of delayed runoffs.

Remember to check out our new poll of the Maine primary, and stay tuned to FairVote’s website for in-depth analysis of the election results when they come in. 

To learn more about ranked choice voting in the Pine Tree State, visit Democracy Maine. To support RCV in your community, join an RCV group in your state today.

FairVote is a nonpartisan election reform organization with no opinion on candidates for office. This analysis of the Maine primary is for informational purposes only.