Austin Theriault‘s campaign requested a recount in Maine‘s 2nd congressional District race immediately after Democratic incumbent Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) was declared the winner on Friday.
Of the few competitive races this election season, Maine’s 2nd congressional District was among the toughest. Golden’s campaign fought to keep his seat in a largely rural district that has favored President-elect Donald Trump in all of his presidential elections. About $50 million was spent throughout the course of the race, making the stakes steep for both candidates.
Emily Cook, Maine’s secretary of state office spokeswoman, said, “We have not yet scheduled when it will be, though, as we have a record number of legislative recounts (11) this year, which are scheduled to go through next Monday, November 25.”
Maine’s state laws also list Nov. 25 as the deadline for when election results must be certified and received by Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME). In cases of recounts, however, the deadline can be waived.
Maine’s congressional races are carried out through a ranked choice system, but because neither candidate won the majority of the votes on Election Day, the votes had to be recounted to determine who received first, second, and third place votes. The Election Day results had Golden ahead of Theriault, but the total was less than 49%, as some 12,000 ballots were either blank or had write-in selections.
For the initial recount, all of the district’s ballots were sent to the state capital to be scanned and verified into a computer for a recount, which was shown on a livestream hosted by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. If either of the candidates came in second place behind a write-in candidate, the recount included them in the final count.
Some media outlets were quick to declare Golden the winner before Maine’s government confirmed a candidate, prompting Theriault’s campaign to immediately request a recount.
Golden campaigned on his desire to reach across the aisle and work with both parties, as well as his advocacy for Maine’s economic safety net, the lobster industry.
“I’ve been one of the most independent-minded members of Congress, one of the most bipartisan,” Golden said during a debate in October. He added that he had voted against President Joe Biden “more than any other Democrat in the House of Representatives.”
Golden was one of the primary politicians pushing for new gun-control laws in the state following an October 2023 mass shooting that killed 18 people and injured 13 others. The desire for gun laws gave Theriault an opening to present Golden as too liberal for the rural district.
Theriault, backed by Trump, was elected to represent the state legislature in 2022.
“We need more balance and less extremism in Washington,” Theriault said during the October debate. “I’m somebody that can go down there and get the job done. I want to advocate for everybody.”
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Theriault’s campaign did not respond to the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment regarding the recount.
Golden took the seat against Republican incumbent Rep. Bruce Poliquin in 2018 and won reelection in 2022.
