Paul LePage has early lead in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District
Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage, left, the Republican nominee for Maine's 2nd Congressional District, is seen during a September roundtable in Lewiston. State Auditor Matt Dunlap, right, the Democratic nominee for Maine's 2nd Congressional District, speaks at a campaign event in June in Bar Harbor. (Libby Kamrowski Kenny/Staff; Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press)
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The nationally watched race for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District was too close to call yet Tuesday evening moments after polls closed.
Former Republican Gov. Paul LePage and Democratic State Auditor Matt Dunlap were vying to win the largest district east of the Mississippi River — which has three times voted for President Donald Trump but has also been represented in Congress by Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat, since 2019.
About three hours after polls closed Tuesday, and with 36% of votes counted, LePage had 53.6% of the tally, while Dunlap had 46.4%.
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About 15 minutes after polls closed, Dunlap walked into his election night watch party, held at Kanù, a restaurant and bar on Main Street in his hometown of Old Town. He was met with a rousing round of applause from about three dozen gathered supporters.
He declined initial chants calling for a “Speech! Speech! Speech!”
Shortly after 10 p.m., the TV at Dunlap’s watch party showed CNN’s projection that Democrats will win control of the U.S. House.
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Cheers rippled through the restaurant.
That projection is especially important for Dunlap — were he to win his race tonight, his party would be in control of Congress and hold power over key committees.
Matt Dunlap, candidate for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, left, takes a selfie with supporter Diane Russell during Dunlap’s watch party Tuesday at Kanu restaurant in Old Town. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
At about 11 p.m., with less than 40% of the vote in, the crowd at Dunlap’s watch party began to thin and the Democratic candidate for the 2nd congressional district is unlikely to make a further appearance, his campaign said.
The big hold-up at that time: Lewiston, Bangor and Augusta had yet to report their votes.
Those are three of the four largest municipalities in the 2nd District, and constitute a huge portion of the Democratic base in the more rural part of the state.
Just before midnight, however, Lewiston posted its totals, giving Dunlap 8,280 votes and LePage 6,039, though the former governor still held a lead.
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At that point in the night, LePage had yet to make an appearance at a Republican watch party in Bangor.
HOW WE GOT HERE
Golden chose not run for reelection, and with the moderate Democrat out of the picture, Republicans have viewed this seat as a prime pickup opportunity. They managed to recruit LePage last year for what could be a remarkable return to Maine politics.
LePage, the self-proclaimed Trump-before-Trump, known for his bold personality and occasionally insensitive comments, sat in the Blaine House from 2011-19. He lost a 2022 gubernatorial comeback to Gov. Janet Mills by double digits and returned to Florida, where he’d moved after he left office.
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He returned again to the Pine Tree State to launch his 2nd District bid last year, facing no Republican challengers in the primary. If he were to come out on top, LePage, 78, would be one of the oldest congressional freshmen in history.
Matt Dunlap, candidate for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, center, is greeted by supporters as he arrives Tuesday at his watch party at Kanu restaurant in Old Town. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
Dunlap’s rise, were he to win, would also be remarkable. Maine’s auditor and former secretary of state entered the race last October, weeks before Golden announced his retirement, and faced intra-party condemnation for doing so.
That tension with national Democrats continued well into his campaign, and Dunlap didn’t receive support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee until August.
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Dunlap and LePage clashed on most every issue on the campaign trail and in two debates last month: MaineCare, the Iran war, housing, Social Security and more.
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LePage has mostly stuck to President Donald Trump, his party’s standard-bearer and a three-time winner in this rural district, and has said he would work with “Trump administration officials to lower costs for Mainers while growing the economy.” Even on the Iran war, which has led to a spike in gas and heating oil prices, LePage stuck with the president, saying in a debate that the U.S. should use its military might to force regime change in Iran.
Dunlap, meanwhile, has trod a similar path to Democrats in tight elections across the country in this midterm — criticizing Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress over rising costs.
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The race was only polled once by a major independent firm. That University of New Hampshire September snapshot showed Dunlap up by six percentage points.
Regardless, the race is viewed by national forecasters as a “lean” Republican district, and one that could be critical in the control of Congress over the next two years, depending on how results pan out elsewhere.
Currently, Republicans hold a four-seat advantage in the U.S. House, with two vacancies; forecasters widely expect Democrats to take control.
This is a developing story.
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Tagged: 2nd Congressional District, 2nd district 2026, election 2026, Matt Dunlap, Paul LePage, Registration
Ethan reports on cost of living for the Portland Press Herald. Before he joined in mid-2026, he covered local news in Augusta and surrounding areas and ran a weekly newsletter for the Kennebec Journal. More by Ethan Horton
