Maine results for every midterm race
Maine’s elections today — like many in the country — will be about President Donald Trump. But in Maine, 2018 brings the chance to replace the state’s own mini-Trump: Republican Gov. Paul LePage.
After eight years, LePage, who has defined his tenure with a conservative policy agenda and racist comments, calling “people of color or people of Hispanic origin” the “enemy,” is out. His legacy, however, looms large in the state’s race.
The Democrat in the governor’s race is Janet Mills, Maine’s attorney general since 2013. She is promising a new direction for the state after LePage and Trump. The Republican, business executive Shawn Moody, is trying to run as a business-friendly conservative — a departure from LePage. Two independent candidates, Alan Caron and Teresea Hayes, are also on the ballot. Aaron Chadbourne is running as a write-in candidate.
Among the biggest issue for Maine voters in the governor’s race will be LePage’s opposition Medicaid expansion, which has stopped nearly 70,000 low-income Mainers from getting access to Medicaid. Mills has promised to carry through with that expansion, which earned an overwhelming majority in a ballot initiative in 2016.
Independent candidates used to get a sizable enough portion of the vote, which caused some strange outcomes — like the election and reelection of LePage — so Mainers threw out their voting system and moved to ranked-choice voting this year.
Democrats are also trying to unseat two-term Republican incumbent Rep. Bruce Poliquin, on the basis of health care. Poliquin was one of the swing votes on the House Obamacare repeal bill, and Democrat Jared Golden, a former state rep, is using Poliquin’s vote in favor of the plan against him.
Maine has split control at the statehouse level — Democrats control the House of Representatives and Republicans control the Senate — but the entire state legislature is on the ballot today. Daily Kos rates them both as likely to go for Democratic control, potentially giving Democrats a rare trifecta over government control.
Maine US Senate
IND | Angus King | 326,681 | 55% | |
GOP | Eric Brakey | 209,401 | 35% | |
DEM | Zackary Ringelstein | 62,491 | 10% |
Maine US House 1
DEM | Chellie M Pingree | 187,380 | 59% | |
GOP | Mark Holbrook | 101,587 | 32% | |
IND | Martin Grohman | 27,481 | 9% |
Maine US House 2
DEM | Jared Golden | 139,224 | 51% | |
GOP | Bruce L Poliquin | 136,286 | 49% | |
IND | Tiffany Bond | 0% | ||
IND | Will Hoar | 0% |
Maine Governor
DEM | Janet Mills | 305,360 | 51% | |
GOP | Shawn Moody | 257,159 | 43% | |
IND | Teresea Hayes | 35,607 | 6% |
Maine State Referendum ME Question 1
No | 374,325 | 63% | |
Affirmative | 222,523 | 37% |