Former political operative Jordan Wood of Auburn led Bangor state Sen. Joe Baldacci and State Auditor Matt Dunlap in early returns Tuesday as the Democratic primary for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District headed to a ranked-choice count.
With 21% of estimated votes in, Wood led with 33.4%, followed by Baldacci at 31% and Dunlap at 25.6% at 9:57 p.m., when the Bangor Daily News and Decision Desk HQ determined the race was headed to a ranked-choice count. Political newcomer Paige Loud of Old Town had 9.9%.
Baldacci, a lawyer and former Bangor city councilor, was added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” program in May, giving him fundraising and organizational support. That move gave Dunlap and others a way to criticize both Baldacci and the party in a year dominated by the rise of U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner.
Dunlap, a former secretary of state and legislator, was the only candidate in the field to announce before Golden’s retirement, launching his bid out of frustration with the congressman’s vote for a Republican-backed bill requiring proof of citizenship when voters register for federal elections. National Democrats warned him publicly and privately against challenging Golden, and later recruited Baldacci to run once the congressman announced he was leaving.
The race was further scrambled by outside spending from a secretive super PAC tied to Republicans that poured more than $300,000 into the primary to boost Dunlap and oppose Baldacci. He got outside help of his own and responded with an attack ad against Dunlap, who hit back on the air in the final days of the campaign.
A poll released last week showed Baldacci with 27% of first-choice support, ahead of Dunlap at 22%, Wood at 21% and Loud at 11%, with 19% still undecided. Dunlap held a strong lead among early voters at 49% and was twice as strong as Baldacci in the suburbs, while Baldacci led among middle-aged and upper-income voters. In a ranked-choice simulation, Baldacci reached the majority threshold with 56% once the field narrowed to two candidates.
Baldacci supports lowering the Medicare age to 55, a more incremental position than the rest of the Democratic field, who backed Medicare for All. Dunlap, Wood and Loud ran in a unified fashion to his left. All four opposed Trump’s Iran war and tariffs.
LePage, the former two-term governor, is entering the race as a likely favorite to recapture a seat won three times by President Donald Trump. U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a four-term Democrat who had held the Trump-leaning district since 2018, announced his retirement in November, and national Republicans have long viewed the 2nd District as one of their best pickup opportunities.
Baldacci’s older brother, former Gov. John Baldacci, represented the 2nd District from 1995 through 2003. The younger Baldacci briefly entered the race in 2016 before backing out ahead of a primary that ended with Emily Cain losing to former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin for the second consecutive time. Golden, a Marine veteran, beat Poliquin two years later.