In a momentous week for the state and America, Mainers, including Batesies, cast their ballots for local, statewide, and federal offices, as well as Maine ballot initiatives. Some results were clear on Election Night or the next day, while others took days to shake out. Here’s a full list of what we know Maine voted for on Election Day.
President: Kamala Harris, Democrat (National winner: Donald Trump, Republican). While Trump won the Oval Office in both the Electoral College and popular vote nationwide, Maine continued with its trend of voting for the Democratic candidate. Harris won roughly 52% of the state’s vote and three of its electoral votes (Trump took the final vote under Maine’s split-vote system).
Senator: Angus King, Independent incumbent. After leading in vote counts for thirty-six agonizing hours, incumbent Sen. Angus King has officially won his re-election bid to represent Maine in the U.S. Senate. The Associated Press called the race at 10:14 a.m. on Thursday, when about 95% of votes had been counted. King won 51.9% of the vote, compared to Demi Kouzounas’s 34.3%, David Costello’s 10.7% and Jason Cherry’s 2.5%.
District 2 Representative: incumbent Democrat Jared Golden. Golden’s victory was not called until Nov. 15. Despite Democratic incumbent Jared Golden declaring victory on Nov. 6, the race proceeded to a ranked-choice run-off after neither Golden nor Republican Austin Theriault received over 50% of the vote. Golden had a slight edge after the first round.
After all three candidates failed to capture a majority of the ballots cast, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced Thursday night that a ranked choice runoff will determine the winner of Maine’s Second House District. The ranked choice tabulation will occur sometime next week. According to Maine Public, Golden earned 48.65% of the vote, Theriault earned 48.11% and write-in candidate Diana Merenda earned 0.10% of the vote.
Maine District 21 State Senator: Peggy Rotundo, incumbent. A Nov. 5 evening press release from the Maine Senate Democratic Campaign Committee declared Rotundo the winner of the Maine State Senate District 21 race. Rotundo ran unopposed after her Republican opponent withdrew.
Maine State District 93 State Representative: Julie McCabe. McCabe ran unopposed. According to her campaign website, she plans to address in her time in office include expanding vocational educational resources, addiction recovery, addressing housing costs, the community college system and workforce training and renewable energy.
Maine State District 94 State Representative: Kristen Cloutier, incumbent. Kristen Cloutier, lifelong resident of Lewiston, has just been reelected for her third term as a state representative for Lewiston’s House District 94. She beat opponent Kendil Snow-Black by earning about 60% of the vote. The Associated Press called the race for Cloutier just after midnight on Nov. 6.
Registrar of the Probate: Thomas C. Reynolds. He ran unopposed.
Question 1, Campaign Finance Limits: Approved. Question 1 puts Maine law in conflict with federal precedent; organizers anticipate that it would lead to a Supreme Court challenge, which they hope would end in a ruling to limit donations to PACs.
Question 2, Funding for Technology Research: Approved. The bond will provide $25 million for tech entrepreneurs working in biomedical, aquaculture, forestry and several other areas of technology. This money will be allocated by the Maine Technology Institute.
Question 3, Funding for Historical Preservation: Approved. Question 3 was the closest of all of Maine’s ballot measures, passing by a margin of about 51.1% in favor and 48.9% opposed. Thanks to its passage, $10 million dollars with a 25% local fund match will be allocated to local governments and nonprofits to restore historic buildings. The race was called late Saturday night by the Associated Press, when about 97% of votes had been counted.
Question 4, Funding for Parks and Trails: Approved. Question 3 was the closest of all of Maine’s ballot measures, passing by a margin of about 51.1% in favor and 48.9% opposed. Thanks to its passage, $10 million dollars with a 25% local fund match will be allocated to local governments and nonprofits to restore historic buildings. The race was called late Saturday night by the Associated Press, when about 97% of votes had been counted.
Question 5, Restoring the Pine-Tree-and-Star State Flag: Failed. By a vote of about 55% to 45%, Mainers declared they were in favor of keeping the current flag, which features the state seal on a navy background. About twenty other states have similar flags. But those in favor of keeping the flag pointed out that the seal includes more aspects of Maine culture, like farming and honoring Civil War veterans, than the simple pine tree and star.
A full list of election results and 24-hour reporting from Election Day and beyond can be found here.