Maine's primary elections for governor are heading into uncharted territory for both Democrats and Republicans, as no candidate is projected to win a majority of votes in either contest. Both races will trigger the state's ranked choice voting system to determine the nominees, adding a novel procedural layer to an already crowded field.
Maine pioneered ranked choice voting in 2016, making it the first state to use the system for statewide and federal races. When no candidate clears 50 percent support, votes from lower-finishing candidates get redistributed based on voters' next choices, and the tabulation repeats until someone reaches a majority.
The open seat exists because Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who won in 2018 and again in 2022, is barred by term limits from seeking another term. On the Democratic side, physician Nirav Shah holds a narrow first-place position, though well short of 50 percent. Hannah Pingree, the former House speaker and daughter of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, sits in second and has Mills' backing. Troy Jackson, the ex-state Senate president, rounds out the leading contenders and has endorsement support from Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The ranked choice dynamic has already redrawn the campaign map. Jackson, Pingree and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced cross-endorsements of one another and pledged to list each other at the top of their own ranked ballots. The three have campaigned jointly and explicitly urged their supporters to follow suit, effectively isolating Shah within the primary field. Shah responded by releasing video urging voters to rank him second if he wasn't their first choice.
Republican voters face their own multi-candidate race. Bobby Charles, a 65-year-old former naval intelligence officer and current president of a Washington lobbying firm, leads in first-choice support. Charles held a senior position in George W. Bush's administration, overseeing the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. His campaign has leaned heavily on federal experience and national security credentials while attacking what he calls failed policies, using a campaign ad showing him chopping wood while calling for cuts to crime, taxes, sanctuary cities and what he terms woke ideology.
Charles competes against healthcare technology businessman Jonathan Bush, real estate developer David Jones, former state legislator Garrett Mason and fitness industry businessman Ben Midgley. The Republican field is narrower than its Democratic counterpart, but still spread enough to prevent any clear majority.
Maine's electorate has a track record of voting across party lines. The state elected Republican Paul LePage as governor for two consecutive terms before backing Mills, signaling an independent streak among voters that could prove decisive in these ranked choice contests.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "Ranked choice voting isn't just a procedural quirk anymore in Maine, it's reshaping how candidates build coalitions and how voters think about their ballots, making this governor's race genuinely unpredictable."
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