Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage was declared the winner of the state’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 12, taking the seat held by retiring centrist Democrat Rep. Jared Golden since 2019.
The winner was announced live in a special ranked-choice voting tabulation by the Maine Secretary of State’s Office. The process was triggered after neither candidate secured more than 50 percent of the vote during the first count after the midterm election.
LePage received 50.81 percent of the votes against Democrat Matthew Dunlap when the second count wrapped up after the third independent candidate, Gregory Ward, was eliminated. Dunlap ended the race with 49.18 percent.
The results remain unofficial until the tabulation is sent to Gov. Janet Mills.
Maine has two congressional districts serving its 1.4 million people. Democrat Rep. Chellie Pingree, who has served since 2009, was reelected to the state’s First Congressional District with about 66 percent of the vote.
A retired farmer and former Army National Guardsman, independent candidate Ward ran as a write-in candidate and received 0.036 percent, or 123 votes, on Nov. 3, the Secretary of State’s Office told The Epoch Times.
LePage, a popular businessman and staunch conservative whose two-term governorship ended in 2019, was ahead with 49.89 percent on Nov. 4. Dunlap trailed with 48.31 percent. Even though the initial results triggered the second counting process, LePage issued a statement claiming victory.
“Thank you. If it is good for Maine, I will work hard to make it happen. If it is bad for Maine, I will oppose it. I will work with anyone if it is in the best interest of Maine. As your next Congressman, I look forward to working for you,” LePage posted on X on Nov. 4.
An MBA graduate of the University of Maine, LePage is the oldest of 18 children from a poor family. He left home at 11 years old and lived on the streets shining shoes until he was adopted at age 13, according to his biography. He was the general manager of Marden’s Surplus and Salvage and is married to Ann LePage. They have five children.
LePage’s senior adviser Brent Littlefield said the announcement on Nov. 12 “only confirmed” what LePage’s team already knew: “Paul LePage is the Congressman-Elect for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District.”
LePage left for Washington Nov. 8, saying he planned to focus on policies that lowered the cost of living, brought back prosperity to rural Maine, and cracked down on welfare fraud and corruption.
Dunlap, who was first elected as Maine’s state auditor in 2020, ran on lowering the cost of living and against the war in Iran, billing himself as a regular guy who “swept floors in a textile factory, washed dishes, [and] worked as a line cook and bartender,” and who was a “proud union member.”
Dunlap was endorsed by “Our Revolution,” an anti-Trump, anti-corporation organization founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that vows to “fight the Oligarch agenda.”
Matt Dunlap, a Democratic candidate for Congress, speaks at a campaign event in Bar Harbor, Maine, on June 5, 2026. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo)
“This isn’t the result we were hoping for, and I’m disappointed that we came up short. Congratulations to Paul LePage and I wish him the best,” Dunlap said in a statement to News Center Maine.
Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) speaks on stage during Headstrong Washington DC Gala in Washington on Nov. 3, 2021. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Headstrong)
Democrats have flipped at least 41 seats nationwide and are expected to have a majority in the chamber. The party captured 255, compared with the GOP’s 169, according to The Associated Press’s latest unofficial results. Some races remain undecided.
