LEWISTON, Maine — Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden has declared victory in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.
He says his victory is all but assured.
“At this point, the final results are undeniably clear. The few precincts that remain cannot meaningfully alter the position of this race,” Golden told reporters in Lewiston on Thursday.
His Republican challenger, former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, has not conceded.
Golden holds a lead over Poliquin, 48.4 percent to 44.7 percent. Golden has over 11,00 more votes than Poliquin.
That lack of a majority triggers a process under Maine’s ranked-choice voting law sending state police out to collect ballot information from cities and towns in the district and take it to Augusta for a count set for Tuesday and run by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ office.
“We are very confident that our lead will hold and even likely extend,” Golden said.
He says he looks forward to continuing to serve Maine’s 2nd Congressional District for the next two years.
Golden has been representing Maine’s 2nd Congressional District since 2019. He first won his House seat after a race with Poliquin that went to ranked-choice voting.