The 2020 United States presidential election in Maine was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the

2020 United States presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...

in which all 50 states plus the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

participated.

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 ...

voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President

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 ...

, and running mate

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

against

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his running mate California Senator

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...

. Maine has four electoral votes in the Electoral College. Unlike all other states except

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, Maine awards two electoral votes based on the statewide vote, and one vote for each congressional district. In the 2016 election, Maine split its vote for the first time since

1828 Events January–March * January 4 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Comte de Villèle, as Prime Minister of France. * January 8 – The Democratic Party of the United States is organized. * January 22 – Arthu ...

, awarding one electoral vote to Trump as he got the most votes in

Maine's 2nd congressional district Maine's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Maine. Covering , it comprises nearly 80% of the state's total land area. The district comprises most of the land area north of the Portland and Augusta metro ...

. Maine became the first state to use

ranked-choice voting Ranked-choice voting may be used as a synonym for: * Ranked voting, a term used for any voting system in which voters are asked to rank candidates in order of preference * Instant-runoff voting (IRV), a specific ranked voting system with single-w ...

for a presidential general election, with voters able to rank their preferred candidates on the ballot. Biden performed strongly with college-educated and

high income A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a nation with a gross national income per capita of US$12,696 or more in 2020, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with "First World" a ...

voters to win Maine. Maine weighed in for this election as 5% more Democratic than the national average.

Primary elections

The primary elections were held on

Super Tuesday Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominating co ...

, March 3, 2020.

Republican primary

Incumbent President

ran unopposed in the Republican primary, and thus he received all of Maine's 22 delegates to the

2020 Republican National Convention The 2020 Republican National Convention in which delegates of the United States Republican Party selected the party's nominees for president and vice president in the 2020 United States presidential election, was held from August 24 to 27, 202 ...

Democratic primary

In an electoral upset, moderate candidate Joe Biden won the state, which primary opponent

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...

previously won in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Libertarian nominee

Jo Jorgensen Jo Jorgensen (born May 1, 1957) is an American libertarian political activist and academic. Jorgensen was the Libertarian Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2020 election, in which she finished third in the popular vot ...

, Psychology Senior Lecturer at Clemson University

Green nominee

Howie Hawkins } Howard Gresham Hawkins III (born December 8, 1952) is an American trade unionist, environmental activist, and perennial candidate from New York. A co-founder of the Green Party of the United States, Hawkins was the party's presidential nominee ...

, co-founder of the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

ist and

environmental activist The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists advoc ...

Alliance nominee

Rocky De La Fuente Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente Guerra (born October 10, 1954) is an American businessman and politician. A perennial candidate, De La Fuente was the Reform Party of the United States of America, Reform Party United States presidential election, nomi ...

, businessman

General election

Ballot access

Libertarian

The Libertarian Party was recognized by Maine as an official party in June 2016 but lost that status in December 2018. To qualify for ballot access, Jorgensen was required to submit 4,000 petition signatures to the state by August 3. Jorgensen sued the state for a reduction of the signature requirement, citing an increase in the difficulty of petitioning caused by 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 ...

. Jorgensen was successful in appearing on the ballot.

Final predictions

Polling

Graphical summary (statewide)

Aggregate polls

Statewide polls

Maine's 1st congressional district

Graphical summary

Aggregate polls

with Donald Trump and Joe Biden

Maine's 2nd congressional district

Graphical summary

Aggregate polls

with Donald Trump and Joe Biden

;with Donald Trump and Pete Buttigieg ;with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris ;with Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders ;with Donald Trump and Elizabeth Warren ;with Pete Buttigieg in Maine's 1st congressional district ;with Kamala Harris in Maine's 1st congressional district ;with Bernie Sanders in Maine's 1st congressional district ;with Elizabeth Warren in Maine's 1st congressional district ;with Pete Buttigieg in Maine's 2nd congressional district ;with Kamala Harris in Maine's 2nd congressional district ;with Bernie Sanders in Maine's 2nd congressional district ;with Elizabeth Warren in Maine's 2nd congressional district ;with Generic Democrat ;with Generic Opponent ;with Generic Democrat in Maine's 1st congressional district ;with Generic Democrat in Maine's 2nd congressional district

Results

Statewide (2 electoral votes)

1st congressional district (1 electoral vote)

2nd congressional district (1 electoral vote)

By county

=Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

= * Kennebec (largest municipality: Augusta)

By congressional district

Joe Biden won the 1st district as the incumbent Democratic representative was re-elected. Donald Trump won the 2nd district despite the incumbent Democratic representative being re-elected.

Analysis

Biden carried Maine by a 9.1% margin over Trump, improving over

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

's 3% win margin in 2016. Biden handily carried

Maine's 1st congressional district Maine's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Maine. The geographically smaller of the state's two congressional districts, the district covers the southern coastal area of the state. The district consists ...

by 23%, while Trump carried its 2nd congressional district by 7.4%, winning a single electoral vote from the state. This marked the first election in history in which Maine and

both split their electoral votes. Ranked-choice tabulation was ultimately not used as Biden earned a majority statewide and in the 1st district, while Trump earned a majority in the 2nd district. Biden narrowly flipped

Kennebec County Kennebec County is a County (United States), county located in the South-central portion of the U.S. state of Maine. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 123,642. Its county seat is Augusta, Maine, Augusta, the state ...

(home to the state capital, Augusta) four years after Clinton lost it. All other counties favored the same party they did in 2016. Maine is located in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

, an area that has become a

stronghold. It was once a classic

Rockefeller Republican The Rockefeller Republicans were members of the Republican Party (GOP) in the 1930s–1970s who held moderate-to- liberal views on domestic issues, similar to those of Nelson Rockefeller, Governor of New York (1959–1973) and Vice President of ...

state, but social issues have moved it to the Democratic column. The last Republican to win all its electoral votes was

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. Per

exit poll An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. A similar poll conducted before actual voters have voted is called an entrance poll. Pollsters – usually private companies working for n ...

s by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, Biden's strength in Maine came from liberals, with Biden winning

whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as " ...

54%–44%, including 56% of white women. Biden was even competitive with Trump among Maine's gun owners, a traditionally Republican interest group, capturing 42% of their vote to Trump's 57%. This was the first presidential election since

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

in which

backed the losing candidate, and the 2nd district is the only part of the so-called Blue Wall which Trump won in 2020, referring to states and electoral-vote areas that voted Democrat in every election from 1992 to 2012; Biden thus became the first Democrat since

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

to win the White House without carrying this district. Biden also became the first Democrat since

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...

to win the White House without carrying Androscoggin County, the first since

to do so without carrying Aroostook,

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Penobscot The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic pr ...

, or

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

counties, and the first since

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

to do so without carrying Somerset County.

Notes

;Partisan clients

References

External links

Elections & Voting division
of the

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 ...

* * * (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 ...

) {{Elections in Maine footer

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- ...

Presidential

Primary elections

Republican primary

Democratic primary

Libertarian nominee

Green nominee

Alliance nominee

General election

Ballot access

Libertarian

Final predictions

Polling

Graphical summary (statewide)

Statewide polls

Maine's 1st congressional district

Graphical summary

Aggregate polls

with Donald Trump and Joe Biden

Maine's 2nd congressional district

Graphical summary

Aggregate polls

with Donald Trump and Joe Biden

Results

Statewide (2 electoral votes)

1st congressional district (1 electoral vote)

2nd congressional district (1 electoral vote)

By county

=Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional district

Analysis

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links