Maine governor primary moves to ranked‑choice count after no candidate hits 50%

Maine began counting ranked‑choice ballots on Friday to determine the Democratic nominee for its open governor’s race. No candidate secured an outright majority in the June 9 primary, so the state will now redistribute votes from eliminated candidates until one candidate receives over 50% of the total.

Former Maine CDC director Nirav Shah leads the first‑choice count with 26.8% of the vote, followed by former House Speaker Hannah Pingree at 22.9%, former Senate President Troy Jackson at 21.8%, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows at 20.6%, and Angus King III with 8%. The tabulation process, a hallmark of Maine’s ranked‑choice system, will continue in the coming days, and the winner will face Republican former Gov. Paul LePage in the November general election to replace term‑limited Gov. Janet Mills.

The same ranked‑choice counting is also being applied to the state’s open U.S. House seat in the 2nd Congressional District, where incumbent Democrat Jared Golden is retiring.