Maine Auditor Matt Dunlap conceded to former Gov. Paul LePage in the race for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.
Dunlap made the announcement Thursday afternoon, just hours after the secretary of state announced the results would go to a ranked choice tabulation. In a statement, Dunlap wrote that “we do not currently believe that ranked choice voting will change the results of this race.”
The results mean that northern Maine will be represented by a Republican for the first time in eight years. The race was an open seat after Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) announced his retirement.
The Associated Press has not called the race as of Thursday afternoon. The former two-term governor currently leads Dunlap by less than a point, about 3,000 votes.
The district was one of the few battlegrounds Republicans were favored to flip this cycle, thanks to Golden’s retirement. He was the rare Democrat to win there and did so by carefully developing his reputation as a centrist voice in Washington.
By contrast, Dunlap was running openly as a progressive despite voters in the district supporting President Donald Trump by 9 points in 2024.
LePage had to overcome his reputation as a bombastic and uncompromising governor, but he’d won the district in prior gubernatorial campaigns and was viewed as a strong recruit by Republicans.
The race took place as Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) competed for her sixth term in the Senate against Troy Jackson, the former state legislator who replaced Graham Platner on the ticket for Democrats.
Dunlap launched his campaign as a challenge to Golden, criticizing his willingness to side with Republicans and embracing policies such as “Medicare for All” that made him a favorite of progressive Democrats. Once Golden decided to retire, Dunlap struggled to win over party leadership until he defeated their preferred challenger, state Sen. Joe Baldacci, in the primary.
A GOP-linked group boosted Dunlap’s candidacy early on, viewing him as the weaker Democrat to compete against LePage. But Dunlap polled competitively in the general election, and his views on gun rights — Dunlap is an avid sportsman — helped soften his image.
LePage, for his part, moderated his tone in 2022, when he unsuccessfully vied for a third term as governor, and has run a relatively disciplined campaign this time, too. Still, LePage’s confrontational style of politics remains ingrained in voters’ minds.
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LePage also had to fend off attacks about his home in Florida. At their second debate, LePage described himself as a “snow bird” who no longer enjoys Maine’s winter weather and said that he splits his time between the two states.
Golden decided to retire this cycle rather than face a contested election from both Dunlap and LePage, although he insisted he could have won reelection to a fifth term. His last race, in 2024, was decided by half a percentage point.