Tight Maine House race between Golden and Theriault moves to ranked voting with no decisive winner

The toss-up race between Democratic Rep. Jared Golden and Republican state Rep. Austin Theriault is headed for a ranked choice tabulation after neither candidate received a majority of first-choice votes, according to Maine officials. 

The race in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District has become crucial for either party wishing to gain power in the House. If Democrats want a chance at winning the lower chamber, they need Mr. Golden to successfully defend his seat for a fourth time. 

So far, 25 races haven’t been called following Tuesday’s election. Republicans have won 211 seats versus Democrats’ 199, according to The Associated Press. 

Mr. Golden leads Mr. Theriault by 1,414 votes with at least 98% of votes tabulated. That small gap isn’t enough for the lawmaker to officially claim victory, according to the Maine secretary of state’s office. The ranked choice tabulation will begin next week, Portland ABC affiliate WMTW reported. 

Maine’s ranked voting rules stipulate that if no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, the candidate with the fewest number of votes is eliminated. The Maine secretary of state’s office said Mr. Golden received 48.65% of the vote versus Mr. Theriault’s 48.11%.

The votes for the eliminated candidate would normally go to a voter’s next choice, but no official third candidate is on the ballot in Maine’s 2nd District. Write-in candidate Diana Mirenda received .1% of the vote, and just over 3% of ballots had the first choice left blank. 

Mr. Theriault’s campaign called for a recount of the race on Thursday, before the ranked choice tabulation announcement. 

“There is a process in place and we look forward to the process unfolding according to the law,” said Theriault campaign manager Shawn Roderick in a statement to The Washington Times. 

Though AP hasn’t called the race, Mr. Golden claimed victory on Wednesday. It’s a moment of deja vu for the lawmaker; he was sent to Washington in 2018 with a win in ranked choice tabulation over incumbent Rep. Bruce Poliquin. 

It was the state’s first election to use ranked choice.

“The rules are clear: A ranked choice run-off is required only if no candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes. When the clerks reported returns on Tuesday, Congressman Golden was the candidate who received more than 50% of first-choice votes,” Mr. Golden’s campaign said in a statement. “Voters have a right to see elections decided both accurately and expediently. State Rep. Theriault has asserted his right to a recount by hand, and Congressman Golden agrees to it. So let’s just do it, rather than incur the delays and expenses of a ranked choice run-off.”