Politics
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Democrat Matt Dunlap on Thursday conceded to Republican Paul LePage even as the 2nd District race heads for a ranked-choice runoff.
In a statement, his campaign acknowledged the tough math, saying the runoff was unlikely to change the results.
“This isn’t the result we were hoping for, and I’m disappointed that we came short. Congratulations to Paul LePage, I wish him the best. I want to thank every volunteer who knocked doors, made calls, and made their voices heard. Your support inspired me, and I’m honored to have worked side by side with you over the past year,” Dunlap, the state auditor, said in a statement.
A ranked-choice tabulation will be held starting 10 a.m. Monday, the Maine secretary of state’s office said Thursday morning.
LePage’s 5,400-vote first-choice lead over Dunlap is more than double the edge that Democrat U.S. Rep. Jared Golden held when the Bangor Daily News and Decision Desk HQ called the 2nd District race in 2024. Golden won that runoff against Republican state Rep. Austin Theriault and a recount confirmed it.
To overtake LePage, Dunlap would need to net more than 5,418 votes from the 6,140 ballots that were blank or went to write-ins. But in the 2024 runoff, nearly 91% of ballots like those were set aside, and only 380 of more than 10,000 blanks moved to one of the candidates.
If 2024’s patterns hold, less than 300 blank ballots will transfer in the count. Even if Dunlap won all of them, he would still trail by more than 5,000 votes and would likely fall short of the 1.5-point margin needed for a state-funded recount.
LePage, a former governor, declared victory Wednesday afternoon at the Sea Dog in Bangor.
Brent Littlefield, a senior adviser to LePage, said in a Thursday statement that the former governor has an “extremely large” lead over Dunlap heading into a ranked-choice runoff.
“Paul LePage looks forward to working for all of the people of Maine’s 2nd District, working with anyone – and everyone – regardless of Party to put Maine first,” Littlefield said.
Maine Republican Party Chair Jim Deyermond congratulated LePage on his win Thursday afternoon, saying the party is “grateful” for his return to public office.
“Gov. LePage brought common sense back to the Blaine House, and now he is bringing it to Washington, D.C., on behalf of Congressional District 2. Paul LePage always puts people before politics, without fail,” Deyermond said.
Republican National Committee spokesperson Kristen Cianci praised LePage for flipping the 2nd District, echoing Deyermond by saying that the former governor will bring “common sense” to Washington and “deliver for Mainers.”
BDN writer Michael Shepherd contributed to this report.