Overview
- Paul LePage publicly declared victory Wednesday after late returns put him ahead on first‑choice totals but major outlets had not called the race and his opponent had not conceded.
- State election officials announced Thursday that no candidate topped 50 percent of first‑choice votes so the race will move to a ranked‑choice tabulation that reallocates lower‑ranked ballots until one candidate has a majority.
- The Secretary of State reported 170,263 first‑choice votes for LePage (49.894%), 164,845 for Matt Dunlap (48.307%), 123 for declared write‑ins, and 6,107 blank ballots out of 341,248 cast.
- Analysts and the Bangor Daily News say late returns from many small, Republican‑leaning towns shifted the margin after Dunlap briefly led, and outside groups spent roughly $35 million on the contest.
- Officials will verify municipal totals and complete the ranked‑choice rounds before certification so the lead could still change but the process, not single precinct returns, now determines the final result.