Republican Paul LePage has won Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, with the completed ranked-choice count confirming a Republican pickup in the blue state. The former governor defeated Democratic State Auditor Matthew Dunlap in the November 3rd, 2026, general election. LePage will replace outgoing Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, who has represented the district since 2019.
Maine election officials completed the tabulation on November 12th, 2026, after neither candidate initially cleared the majority threshold. The contest went through that additional process even though LePage had declared victory and Dunlap had conceded the previous week. The open seat gave Republicans an opportunity to reclaim a district that supported President Donald Trump in three consecutive presidential elections.
LePage, 78, previously served as Maine’s governor from 2011 to 2019. The Lewiston native later sought another term in 2022 but lost to Democratic Governor Janet Mills. Golden, a four-term congressman known for breaking with his party, opted against seeking reelection, leaving Dunlap to defend the seat for Democrats.
As Trending Politics reported, LePage finished ahead after the additional count. The Maine Secretary of State’s Office released totals showing 170,890 votes for LePage and 165,432 for Dunlap, a margin of 5,458. The state listed their shares as 50.81 percent and 49.18 percent, respectively. Its announcement identified LePage as the winner, with the results remaining unofficial until the official tabulation was communicated to the governor, Maine Governor Janet Mills.
The initial municipal returns gave LePage 170,263 first-choice votes, compared with Dunlap’s 164,845. Another 123 first-choice votes went to declared write-in candidates, while 6,017 ballots had no first-choice selection in the race. Those totals put LePage at 49.894 percent, just below the threshold needed to win outright. Maine requires a candidate in a ranked-choice contest to receive more than 50 percent of the vote.
As the Portland Press Herald reported, ballots without a first-choice selection could transfer to a second choice, while completely blank ballots were removed from the count. More than 3,600 ballots were entirely blank in the congressional race. Following the ballot review and tabulation, LePage gained 627 votes and Dunlap gained 587, increasing the Republican’s advantage by 40 votes. Election staff also manually reconciled hundreds of ballots that machines could not read.
Watch LePage’s victory announcement here. See WMTW’s coverage HERE.
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Dunlap conceded on November 5th, acknowledging that the remaining process wouldn’t overcome LePage’s lead. Maine Public reported that this was the fourth ranked-choice runoff in the district since 2018, with Golden winning the previous three. Republican Bruce Poliquin held the seat for two terms before losing to Golden in 2018, in the country’s first congressional election decided by a ranked-choice runoff. Republicans had occupied the seat for only four of the preceding 32 years.
LePage was already attending congressional orientation in Washington while election officials finished their work in Augusta. His team had representatives present during the tabulation, according to the Press Herald. He also met with Golden during the week as preparations began for the handoff. Maine Public reported that Golden offered to assist his successor, writing, “I stand ready to work with him to ensure the smooth transition that Mainers deserve.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.