PORTLAND, Maine — On Wednesday, Republican Austin Theriault officially concluded a recount in his congressional campaign in Maine and conceded victory to Democratic U.S. Representative Jared Golden. This decision came a month after the Election Day results, capping off a closely monitored election process.
Theriault chose to halt the recount before its completion, as the preliminary findings did not indicate any substantial changes to the original results, where Golden emerged victorious by a margin of 2,706 votes using the state’s ranked choice voting system. “I ran this campaign focused on prioritizing people over politics, and I think it’s time to embody that now,” stated Theriault, describing the contest as “an extremely close and hard-fought race.”
The election process was prolonged due to both the ranked choice voting system and the recount. Although Golden secured the highest number of first-choice votes, he did not achieve a majority, garnering less than 49% of the total votes. About 12,000 ballots were either left blank or marked for write-in candidates, leading to an additional voting round. In this round, ballots were transported to Augusta, processed through a computer, and second-choice votes were reallocated.
Golden was ultimately declared the winner of the 2nd Congressional District by the Associated Press after the completion of this process, more than a week post-Election Day. The recount officially commenced the following Monday. “I want to express my gratitude to the voters for participating in the finest democracy the world has ever seen, as well as all the staff and volunteers who contributed to ensuring the integrity of this election on Election Day, during the runoff, and throughout the recount,” said Golden, who was in Washington D.C. when Theriault reached out to concede.
This highly competitive race attracted significant attention and over $50 million in campaign spending, reflecting both parties’ efforts to gain control of the House of Representatives. Golden, a Marine Corps veteran known for sometimes diverging from party lines, campaigned on his ability to collaborate with individuals across the political spectrum. He highlighted his advocacy for the critical lobster industry in the region but faced criticism for his stance against assault weapons following a tragic shooting incident in Lewiston in October 2023, which resulted in the deaths of 18 people and injuries to 13 others.
Theriault, a former NASCAR driver who received support from President-elect Donald Trump, aimed to position himself as a unifying figure amid a divisive political landscape, emphasizing, “We need more balance and less extremism in Washington.” This contest marked the third occasion Golden succeeded through additional voting rounds employing the ranked choice voting method, which allows voters to rank their choices and facilitates subsequent rounds of voting to ensure a majority winner. Ranked choice voting previously enabled Golden to defeat Republican incumbent Bruce Poliquin in 2018 and secure victory in their rematch in 2022.
This article has been amended to clarify that Jared Golden received the most first-place votes.
