Ranked choice voting confirms LePage win in Maine 2nd District
On Thursday, November 12, the Maine Secretary of State completed a ranked choice voting (RCV) tally to determine the winner of the 2nd Congressional District race. The results confirmed what the initial returns, and the candidates themselves, had already indicated: Republican Paul LePage has defeated Democrat Matt Dunlap. This was one of the few House seats to flip from blue to red this cycle.
Maine has successfully used RCV for state and federal primaries, and federal general elections, since 2018. In a 2024 poll, 82% of Mainers said RCV is easy, and 57% liked having the ability to rank candidates.
Why did the race go to a ranked choice voting tally?
On November 5, the Secretary of State announced that no candidate had received a majority of ballots cast in the election, and that the race would proceed to an RCV tally. Maine law requires that candidates earn a majority of votes across all ballots cast, not just ballots that marked a declared candidate in a given race.
Before the RCV count, LePage already had 50.8% of ballots that ranked him, Dunlap, or declared write-in Gregory Ward as their first choice. Across all ballots cast – including ballots that marked no first choice at all, or ballots that marked an undeclared write-in candidate – LePage had about 49.9% of first choices.
Historically, most of these voters don’t rank any other choices – explaining Dunlap’s decision to concede the race several days ago. Given LePage’s sizable first-choice lead, this RCV tally was essentially a formality.
What were the results of the ranked choice voting tally?
Below are the results of the RCV tally, which LePage won with 50.8% of the vote.
| Candidate | First-choice totals | “Blank” ballots eliminated | Final round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paul LePage (R) | 170,263 (49.89%) | 170,710 (50.63%) | 170,890 (50.81%) |
| Matthew Dunlap (D) | 164,845 (48.31%) | 165,178 (48.99%) | 165,432 (49.18%) |
| Write-in candidates | 123 (0.04%) Only includes votes for declared write-ins | 1,243 (0.36%) Now includes votes for declared and undeclared write-ins | Eliminated |
| “Blank” ballots This includes ballots that left the first choice blank, ranked an undeclared write-in first, or ranked multiple first choices | 6,017 (1.76%) | Eliminated | Eliminated |
As in previous years, most ballots without a “valid” first choice (68.4%) did not count toward any candidate. 1,120 (18.6%) ranked an undeclared write-in, 447 (7.4%) ranked LePage, and 333 (5.5%) counted for Dunlap. When write-ins were then eliminated, 180 (14.5%) went to LePage and 254 (20.4%) went to Dunlap.
Maine’s experience with ranked choice voting
Maine has used RCV for state and federal primaries, and federal general elections, since 2018. RCV has allowed more voters to vote for their favorite candidates without “wasting their vote.” Voters can rank third-party, independent, and/or write-in candidates, and still weigh in between the Democrat and Republican.
Democrats, Republicans, and independents have all been elected in Maine under RCV – including Republican Susan Collins in the past, independent U.S. Senator Angus King, and Democratic Representatives Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree. In a 2024 poll, 82% of Mainers said RCV is easy, and 57% liked having the ability to rank candidates. Maine saw record turnout in both its RCV primary and general election this year.
To learn more about RCV in the Pine Tree State, visit Democracy Maine.
