Democrat Matt Dunlap has conceded the open race for Maine's 2nd Congressional District, handing Republican Paul LePage a victory and a key pickup for the GOP in the 2026 midterms. The concession came as state election officials were preparing to trigger ranked-choice voting because neither candidate cleared the majority threshold in the initial tally.
"This isn't the result we were hoping for, and I'm disappointed that we came short," Dunlap said in a statement. He congratulated LePage and thanked his volunteers for their efforts.
LePage, who served as Maine's governor from 2011 to 2019, declared victory earlier, with his campaign asserting that the ranked-choice tabulation would confirm his win. The Associated Press and other outlets projected LePage as the winner before the official ranked-choice count was completed.
The race drew national attention as Republicans sought to reclaim a seat that President Trump carried three times, even as retiring Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat, had held it for four terms. The district's strong GOP lean made it a top target for the party, and LePage's victory bolsters the Republican majority in the House.
According to the Maine secretary of state's office, LePage led the first-choice tally with 170,263 votes, just under 50 percent, while Dunlap received 164,845 votes, roughly 48 percent. More than 6,000 ballots were left blank for the race, and 123 went to write-in candidates. Because no candidate crossed the 50 percent threshold, the state moved to ranked-choice voting, with the second choices of voters whose top pick was eliminated to be reallocated.
Maine is one of only two states that use ranked-choice voting statewide, a system voters approved in 2016 and first used in 2018. The process eliminates the lowest-finishing candidate and redistributes those ballots until a majority winner emerges.
LePage's senior adviser, Brent Littlefield, said in a post on X that the campaign's own review of town clerk data made clear LePage would prevail. "It is very clear from our campaign team's work yesterday talking one-on-one with local town clerks, and the publicly available numbers, that Paul LePage is the Congressman-Elect," he wrote.
Dunlap's concession effectively ended the race before the official ranked-choice tabulation, which was scheduled for Monday. The outcome is a blow to Democrats, who had hoped to hold the seat despite the district's conservative tilt.
The result also underscores the broader political landscape heading into the next Congress. With control of the House at stake, every seat matters, and the GOP's success in Maine's 2nd District adds to the Democrats' midterm challenges. Meanwhile, the party is already mapping out a multifront strategy to counter the Trump agenda in the new session.
LePage's return to Washington marks a comeback for the former governor, who has remained a polarizing figure in Maine politics. His victory is likely to be celebrated by national Republicans as a sign of strength in rural districts that have trended red.
