United States Senate election in Maine (June 12, 2018 Democratic primary)

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Maine

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Zak Ringelstein	100.0	89,841

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 89,841
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Ranked-choice voting

On November 8, 2016, Maine voters approved the Maine Ranked Choice Voting Initiative, which provided for the use of ranked-choice voting (RCV) in both primary and general elections for United States senators, United States representatives, the governor, state senators, and state representatives. On February 2, 2017, the Maine State Senate voted 24 to 10 to ask the Maine Supreme Judicial Court to review the initiative and issue an advisory opinion on its constitutionality. On May 23, 2017, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court issued a unanimous advisory opinion finding that the law's provisions applying to general elections for state legislators and the governor violated the state constitution.^[2][3][4][5]

A repeal bill introduced in light of the advisory opinion failed to clear the legislature, as did a bill providing for partial implementation (for those offices not affected by the advisory opinion) and a bill providing for a constitutional amendment to allow for full implementation. During a special legislative session convened on October 23, 2017, the state legislature approved LD 1646, a bill delaying the implementation of RCV pending voter approval of a constitutional amendment to allow for the use of RCV. The bill set a deadline of December 1, 2021, and provided for the repeal of ranked-choice voting if an amendment was not passed by that date. RCV proponents initiated a veto referendum campaign to overturn the bill. On March 5, 2018, the secretary of state announced that a sufficient number of valid signatures had been submitted to place the referendum on the June 12, 2018, primary election ballot, meaning that LD 1646 would be suspended and ranked-choice voting would be used for federal and state offices in the June 2018 primary election. If LD 1646 is repealed as a result of the veto referendum, RCV will remain in place unless the legislature or the courts take actions to change the statute. If LD 1646 is upheld, the law's provisions as described above will take effect.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]}

On March 29, 2018, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap (D) announced that he had been notified by Assistant Attorney General Phyllis Gardiner of "legal concerns regarding the implementation of ranked-choice voting" that might prohibit its use in the June 2018 primary election. On April 3, 2018, Kennebec County Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy issued an opinion in Committee for Ranked-Choice Voting v. Dunlap ordering state officials to proceed with the implementation of ranked-choice voting in June. Murphy wrote the following in her opinion: "The uncertainty that halting the ranked-choice voting implementation process at this late date causes is significant. Clarity, stability and public confidence are essential to ensure the legitimacy of Maine elections." In a separate lawsuit, Senate of Maine v. Dunlap, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled unanimously that "ranked-choice voting is the current statutory law of Maine for the primary elections to be held on June 12, 2018." The court noted that its ruling "focuses only on the June 2018 primary election; it does not address any other potential application of ranked-choice voting in Maine," allowing for the possibility of further substantive challenges to the law's validity in future elections.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Eight of 16 Maine counties—50 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

In the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton (D) won Maine with 47.8 percent of the vote. Donald Trump (R) received 44.9 percent. In 2016, Maine had four electoral votes. Maine's share of electoral votes represented 0.7 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs in the general election and 1.5 percent of the 270 votes needed to be elected president. Maine awards its electoral votes by congressional district and the popular vote. It has two electoral votes for the statewide vote and one for each of its two congressional districts. In presidential elections between 1820 and 2016, Maine voted Republican 67.3 percent of the time and Democratic 32.6 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Maine voted Democratic all five times.^[16]

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Maine. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.^[17][18]

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Maine heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

• Following the 2016 elections, an independent held one U.S. Senate seat and a Republican held the other.
• A Democrat held one of Maine's two U.S. House seats, and a Republican held the other.

State executives

• As of September 2018, Democrats held two of 10 state executive positions, a Republican and an independent each held one, and the remaining positions were officially nonpartisan.
• The governor of Maine was Republican Paul LePage. The state held an election for governor on November 6, 2018. Maine does not have a lieutenant governor.

State legislature

• Democrats controlled the state House. They had a 73-70 majority in the state House. Republicans control the Maine State Senate. They had an 18-17 majority in the chamber.

Trifecta status

• Maine was under divided government, meaning that the two parties shared control of the state government. Paul LePage (R) served as governor and Republicans controlled the state Senate while Democrats controlled the state House.

2018 elections

See also: Maine elections, 2018

Maine held elections for the following positions in 2018:

• 1 U.S. Senate seat
• 2 U.S. House seats
• Governor
• All 35 state Senate seats
• All 151 state House seats

Demographics

As of July 2016, Maine's three largest cities were Portland (pop. est. 65,000), Lewiston (pop. est. 35,000), and Bangor (pop. est. 30,000).^[19]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Maine from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Maine Secretary of State and the Federal Election Commission.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Maine every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Maine 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Hillary Clinton	47.8%	Donald Trump	44.9%	2.9%
2012	Barack Obama	56.3%	Mitt Romney	41.0%	15.3%
2008	Barack Obama	57.7%	John McCain	40.4%	17.3%
2004	John Kerry	53.6%	George W. Bush	44.6%	9.0%
2000	Al Gore	49.1%	George W. Bush	44.0%	5.1%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Maine from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Maine 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	Susan Collins	67.0%	Shenna Bellows	30.8%	36.2%
2012	Angus King	51.1%	Charles Summers	29.7%	21.4%
2008	Susan Collins	61.3%	Thomas H. Allen	38.6%	22.7%
2006	Olympia Snowe	74.0%	Jean Hay Bright	20.6%	53.4%
2002	Susan Collins	58.4%	Chellie Pingree	41.6%	16.8%
2000	Olympia Snowe	68.9%	Mark Lawrence	31.1%	37.8%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Maine.

Election results (Governor), Maine 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	Paul LePage	48.2%	Mike Michaud	43.4%	4.8%
2010	Paul LePage	37.6%	Eliot Cutler	35.9%	1.7%
2006	John E. Baldacci	38.1%	Chandler E. Woodcock	30.2%	7.9%
2002	John E. Baldacci	47.1%	Peter E. Cianchette	41.5%	5.6%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Maine in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Maine 2000-2016
Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	1	50.0%	1	50.0%	Even
2014	1	50.0%	1	50.0%	Even
2012	0	0%	2	100%	D+2
2010	0	0%	2	100%	D+2
2008	0	0%	2	100%	D+2
2006	0	0%	2	100%	D+2
2004	0	0%	2	100%	D+2
2002	0	0%	2	100%	D+2
2000	0	0%	2	100%	D+2

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

See also

• United States Senate election in Maine, 2018
• United States Senate election in Maine (2018 Republican primary)
• United States Senate elections, 2018
• United States House of Representatives elections in Maine, 2018

Footnotes

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