The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine were held on November 3, 2020, to elect the two

U.S. representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

, one from each of the state's two

congressional districts Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...

. The elections coincided with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives,

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

and various

and

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

. The election was conducted with ranked choice voting, as per the result of a referendum passed in 2016. Party Primaries were initially scheduled to take place on June 9, 2020. They were rescheduled by Gov.

Janet Mills Janet Trafton Mills (born December 30, 1947) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the 75th governor of Maine since January 2019. She previously served as the Maine Attorney General on two occasions. A member of the Democratic Party ...

to July 14, 2020, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Mills' executive order also expanded the ability to request absentee ballots, which may now be done up to and on election day. Parties that qualified to participate in the 2020 Primary Election were the Democratic Party, the Green Independent Party, and the Republican Party. Two candidates in District 1 and four candidates in district 2 filed petitions with the Secretary of State by March 16, 2020. Non-party candidates could also file petitions to be included on the ballot by June 1, 2020.

Overview

District 1

The 1st district encompasses the southern coastal area of the state, taking in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Augusta, Brunswick and Saco. The incumbent is Democrat

Chellie Pingree Chellie Marie Pingree ( ; ''née'' Johnson; born April 2, 1955) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, her district includes most of the southern part of the state, includi ...

, who was re-elected with 58.8% of the vote in 2018.

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Declared

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Declared

= * Jay Allen, physician

Primary results

General election

Debate

Predictions

Polling

Results

District 2

The 2nd district covers most of northern rural Maine, including the cities of Lewiston, Bangor,

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

and Presque Isle. The incumbent is Democrat

Jared Golden Jared Forrest Golden (born July 25, 1982) is an American politician and a Marine Corps veteran serving as the U.S. representative for Maine's 2nd congressional district since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, his district, the largest eas ...

, who flipped the district and was elected with 50.6% of the vote in 2018, making him the first member of Congress to be elected by ranked choice voting.

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

won the district in the concurrent

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Declared

= *

, incumbent U.S. Representative

Endorsements

Primary results

Republican primary

On the ballot

Dale Crafts Dale John Crafts (born December 14, 1958) is an American politician and businessman. He has started a number of businesses, including Mobility Plus, which helps people with disabilities drive more easily. Crafts was on the Lisbon, Maine Town Cou ...

, former state representative *Adrienne Bennett, press secretary for former Governor

Paul LePage Paul Richard LePage (; born October 9, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 74th Governor of Maine from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, LePage served two terms as a city councilor in Waterville, Maine, before being ...

Eric Brakey Eric Brakey (born August 8, 1988) is an American politician in the U.S. state of Maine. Brakey was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in the greater suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio before attending Ohio University, where he studied theater perf ...

, former state senator and nominee for U.S. Senate in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Declined

Travis Mills Travis Tatum Mills (born April 12, 1989), previously known by his stage name T. Mills, is an American rapper, singer, and actor from Riverside, California. Following his name change from T. Mills to Travis Mills, he began hosting an eponymous s ...

, retired U.S. Army staff sergeant *

Bruce Poliquin Bruce Lee Poliquin (; born November 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Maine's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. Poliquin ...

, former U.S. Representative

Endorsements

Polling

Primary results

Both Bennett and Brakey conceded the race to Crafts the day after the primary. As Crafts did not get 50% of the vote, Maine's ranked choice system calls for the second choices of the last place candidate's votes to be distributed to the other candidates, whether or not the candidates concede the race. Crafts criticized this as a waste of taxpayer dollars, and both Bennett and Brakey said they would refuse to accept the results of the ranked choice tabulation.

Maine Secretary of State The secretary of state of Maine is a constitutional officer in the U.S. state of Maine and serves as the head of the Maine Department of State. The Secretary of State performs duties of both a legislative branch as well as an executive branch off ...

Matthew Dunlap Matthew Dunlap (born November 26, 1964) is an American politician from Maine who is the Maine State Auditor.. A Democrat, Dunlap served as Secretary of State of Maine from January 7, 2013, to January 4, 2021, and previously served in that same p ...

said whether the concessions could stop the tabulation was "a question for lawyers", but that the tabulation would begin on July 18. Crafts called on the

Maine Legislature The Maine Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate. The Legislature convenes at the State House in Aug ...

to examine this issue. Dunlap's office, while not responding directly to Crafts' call to action on the Legislature, did agree with Crafts that Dunlap was performing his duty under the law. % (gross) = percent of all valid votes cast (without eliminating the exhausted votes)
% (net) = percent of votes cast after eliminating the exhausted votes

General election

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

;Jared Golden vs. generic Republican

Results

Notes

;Partisan clients

References

External links

Elections & Voting division
of the

* * * (State affiliate of the U.S.

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV or the League) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization in the United States. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, and advocating for vot ...

) * ;Official campaign websites for 1st district candidates
Jay Allen (R) for Congress

Chellie Pingree (D) for Congress
;Official campaign websites for 2nd district candidates
Dale Crafts (R) for Congress

Jared Golden (D) for Congress
{{Maine

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

Overview

District 1

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Declared

Primary results

Republican primary

Candidates

=Declared

Primary results

General election

Debate

Predictions

Polling

Results

District 2

Democratic primary

Candidates

=Declared

Endorsements

Primary results

Republican primary

On the ballot

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Primary results

General election

Predictions

Endorsements

Polling

Results

See also

Notes

References

External links