policy
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Republican Austin Theriault accomplished a recount of his congressional election in Maine on Wednesday and conceded to Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, ending the closely watched contest a month after Election Day.
Theriault decided to finish the recount before it was accomplished after initial results showed no significant change within the consequence after Golden won the state's ranked-choice voting by 2,706 votes.
“I ran this campaign that was about putting people over politics, and now it’s time to do that,” Theriault announced, calling the competition “an extremely close and hard-fought race.”
Between ranked-choice voting and the recount, the election was a lengthy process.
Golden won essentially the most primary votes, but fell in need of a majority by lower than 49% of the votes forged, as about 12,000 ballots were either blank or contained write-in candidates. This required one other round of voting wherein ballots were delivered to Augusta, entered right into a computer, and reallocated with the second ballots from ballots that were blank or had candidates listed on them.
The Associated Press declared Golden the winner of the 2nd Congressional District after the trial concluded, greater than every week after Election Day. The recount began on Monday.
“I would like to thank the voters for participating in the best democracy the world has ever seen, and all of the staff and volunteers who helped make sure the integrity of the election on Election Day, in the course of the runoff, and throughout this recount ,” he told Golden, who was in Washington when Theriault called for the concession on Wednesday.
This race attracted attention and generated greater than $50 million in spending as each parties battled for control of the House of Representatives.
Golden, a Marine Corps veteran willing to defy his own party, campaigned on his ability to work with each Democrats and Republicans. He also emphasized his commitment to the lobster industry, which is important to the region's economy. But Golden has come under attack for his opposition to assault weapons, which he announced after an Army reservist used an assault rifle to kill 18 people and wound 13 others in Lewiston in October 2023.
Theriault, a former NASCAR driver, had the support of President-elect Donald Trump but additionally portrayed himself as a possible unifier in a time of division. “We need more balance and less extremism in Washington,” Theriault previously said.
It was the third time Golden won in a further round of ranked voting. The system allows voters to rate the candidates on the ballot and allows for added rounds of voting to make sure a majority winner. Ranked-choice voting tables allowed Golden to unseat incumbent Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin in 2018 and win a rematch in 2022.
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