State Auditor Matt Dunlap has won the ranked-choice runoff in the Democratic primary for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, overcoming state Sen. Joe Baldacci’s initial lead after last week’s election to advance to a November matchup against former Gov. Paul LePage.
Dunlap, 61, a former secretary of state and Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine leader from Old Town, beat Baldacci, a Bangor Democrat, who came in second, as well as Jordan Wood, a former Democratic operative, and Paige Loud, a social worker, to move on to the November race that will determine U.S. Rep. Jared Golden’s successor in the swing district covering Maine’s northern half.
Dunlap thanked the other Democratic candidates in a statement early Friday morning and said the results “tell us that people want real change and a better future.”
“Together, we’re going to defeat Paul LePage one more time and make sure he’s never on the ballot again,” Dunlap said. “While we’re at it, we’re going to fight to advance policies that will actually help Mainers – like Medicare for All, affordable childcare, a lower cost of living and stopping this illegal war in Iran.”
After ranked-choice votes were tabulated, Dunlap won with a total of 35,924 votes against Baldacci’s 32,555.
Both parties view the seat as potentially key this fall to determining whether Republicans hold onto their narrow House majority or not. Second District voters backed President Donald Trump in each of his elections while also supporting Golden, a moderate Democrat who first won election to Congress in 2018 and opted against seeking a fifth term this year.
No candidate had garnered at least 51% of first-place votes in last Tuesday’s primary election, triggering the runoff that sees the last-place candidate eliminated and the second- and third-place choices from their supporters reallocated to the remaining candidates. The retabulation process continues until one candidate receives a majority.
Baldacci, 61, a former Bangor city councilor and the brother of former Gov. John Baldacci, led the field initially by receiving nearly 32% of the vote. Dunlap (29.3%) and Wood, 36 (28.7%), were behind Baldacci, who had received the endorsement of the national House Democratic campaign arm. Loud, a 29-year-old social worker from Old Town, finished last and received 10.3% of votes.
Still, Loud had influence on the runoff thanks to how her supporters ranked the other candidates.
The Democratic winner now can look ahead to a November showdown with LePage, the 77-year-old Republican with a penchant for feisty rhetoric who grew up in Lewiston and served as mayor of Waterville before leading Maine from 2011 to 2019.
Other primary races that required runoffs under Maine’s ranked-choice voting system included the Republican and Democratic gubernatorial contests and a few seats in the state Legislature.