Austin Theriault, the Republican candidate for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, checks in with his grandmother Betty Theriault during an election watch party at Hollywood Casino Hotel in Bangor Tuesday night. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

The race to represent Maine’s 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives will be decided by a ranked choice runoff after neither candidate secured more than 50% of the votes.

The state will conduct a ranked choice tabulation in Augusta starting next week, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced Thursday night.

U.S. Rep. Jared Golden secured 196,189 votes, 48.65% of the total, and Republican state Rep. Austin Theriault got 194,030 votes, 48.11% of the total, leaving the candidates separated by 2,159 votes, according to results certified and shared by the Department of the Secretary of State late Thursday night.

Earlier Thursday, Theriault had requested a recount in his race against Golden, the Democratic incumbent.

If a recount occurs, it would follow the ranked choice tabulation, Cook said in a statement Thursday night. She later clarified that the losing candidate would need to request a recount following the runoff tabulation before one would commence.

The 2nd District race featured one declared write-in candidate, Diana Merenda, of Surry. The second-choice votes of those who selected Merenda as their first choice, as well as those who left their first choice blank, will be added to the first-choice counts for Golden and Theriault, the department said.

Merenda received 0.1% of the total with 420 votes, the department said. More than 12,600 – or 3.1% – of the ballots turned in had no candidate listed as a first choice.

Maine’s ranked choice voting system requires a runoff if no candidate captures more than 50% of the total vote.

Golden’s campaign urged the department not to conduct the runoff in a statement following Bellows’ announcement.

Theriault had already requested a recount, Golden’s campaign said, “and Congressman Golden agrees to it. So let’s just do it, rather than incur the delays and expenses of a ranked choice runoff.”

“The rules are clear: A ranked choice runoff is required only if no candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes. When the clerks reported returns on Tuesday, Congressman Golden was the candidate who received more than 50% of first-choice votes,” the campaign said.

But the department’s certified results, released roughly an hour after the Golden campaign’s statement, disputed that claim.

State law enforcement officers will collect ballot materials to be taken to Augusta. While the retrieval schedule will not be publicly released, the runoff tabulation will be open to the public and livestreamed on the Secretary of State’s YouTube channel.

Any recount would also be publicly viewable, but would not take place until after the runoff, the department said.

While Maine does not have a mandatory recount law, candidates are able to request recounts without paying a deposit if the race is decided by a less than 1% margin for statewide and multicounty races, the department said.

VICTORY ALREADY DECLARED

Golden, a three-term incumbent from Lewiston, declared victory in the race Wednesday while leading by a slim margin after a bruising and expensive campaign that could determine which party ends up controlling the House.

The AP, which the Portland Press Herald uses to compile statewide election results, still hadn’t called the race Thursday night because of the very tight margin. Golden was declared the winner by Decision Desk HQ, a website focused on reporting election results.

Theriault’s campaign said in a written statement Thursday that the race is still too close to call.

“We must ensure a full, accurate count,” Theriault campaign manager Shawn Roderick said. “Despite being significantly outspent, this race is still extremely close. We must work together to ensure the Mainers’ voices are heard and the final result reflects the will of the people.”

“Congressman Golden believes our democratic system is the greatest and strongest the world has ever known,” Golden spokesperson Mario Moretto said in response to the recount request. “He has trust and faith in the process of determining the victor, and is ready for a recount if one is necessary. He is confident that when all the votes are counted, his victory will be undeniable.”

Golden declared victory during a Wednesday afternoon news conference, citing the Decision Desk HQ call.

Rep. Jared Golden fields a question from the media during a news conference at his campaign office in Lewiston Wednesday afternoon. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Golden, a 42-year-old Marine Corps veteran seeking a fourth term, campaigned for reelection on his record as the most independent Democrat in the House of Representatives, breaking ranks with President Biden more than any of his colleagues.

Theriault, a 30-year-old first-term state lawmaker and former race car driver from Fort Kent, reminded voters in the closing days of the campaign that he has the strong backing of former President Donald Trump, who won the 2nd District as well as the overall race for the White House.

The 2nd District race was one of the most hotly contested congressional races in the country, drawing about $30 million in combined spending from the candidates and outside groups, which spent more than $21 million through Oct. 28.

The winner here and in a handful of other toss-up races across the country could determine which party controls the House, where Republicans currently have a narrow majority.

Thursday night, the AP was reporting that Republicans had won 211 seats in the House and Democrats had won 199, leaving 25, including Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, among the races still too close to call.

Golden has been fighting for the split-ticket voters in the largely conservative district that chose him by 6 percentage points in 2020 – the same year voters chose Trump over President Biden by 7 points. He is currently one of five Democrats representing a district that voted for Trump in 2020.