2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Maine, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on June 14.
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
November 8, 2016
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 2 Maine seats to the United States House of Representatives | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Overview
Statewide
By district
Results of the 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine by district:
| District | Democratic | Republican | Others | Total | Result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| District 1 | 227,546 | 57.99% | 164,569 | 41.94% | 276 | 0.07% | 392,391 | 100.0% | Democratic hold |
| District 2 | 159,081 | 45.17% | 192,878 | 54.77% | 224 | 0.06% | 352,183 | 100.0% | Republican hold |
| Total | 386,627 | 51.93% | 357,447 | 48.01% | 500 | 0.07% | 744,574 | 100.0% | |
District 1
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Pingree: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
Incumbent Democrat Chellie Pingree, who had represented the district since 2009, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 60% of the vote in 2014. The district had a PVI of D+9.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Chellie Pingree, incumbent U.S. representative
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chellie Pingree (incumbent) | 28,143 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 28,143 | 100.0 | ||
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Mark Holbrook, professional counselor[2]
Eliminated in primary
- Ande Smith, United States Navy veteran and attorney[3]
Debate
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key: P Participant A Absent N Not invited I Invited W Withdrawn |
||||||
| Mark Holbrook | Ande Smith | |||||
| 1 | Jun. 7, 2016 | WMTW (TV) | Paul Merrill | [4] | P | P |
Results
After a recount, Holbrook was declared the winner with a margin of 57 votes.[5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mark Holbrook | 10,360 | 50.1 | |
| Republican | Ande Smith | 10,303 | 49.9 | |
| Total votes | 20,663 | 100.0 | ||
General election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[6] | Safe D | November 7, 2016 |
| Daily Kos Elections[7] | Safe D | November 7, 2016 |
| Rothenberg[8] | Safe D | November 3, 2016 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[9] | Safe D | November 7, 2016 |
| RCP[10] | Safe D | October 31, 2016 |
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Chellie Pingree (D) |
Mark Holbrook (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of New Hampshire[11] | September 15–20, 2016 | 266 LV | ± 6.0% | 64% | 22% | 2% | 12% |
| SurveyUSA[12] | September 4–10, 2016 | 382 LV | ± 5.1% | 57% | 37% | – | 7% |
| University of New Hampshire[13] | June 15–21, 2016 | 248 LV | ± 4.5% | 56% | 34% | – | 10% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Chellie Pingree (D) |
Ande Smith (R) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of New Hampshire[13] | June 15–21, 2016 | 248 LV | ± 4.5% | 55% | 34% |
Endorsements
Organizations
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chellie Pingree (incumbent) | 227,546 | 58.0 | |
| Republican | Mark Holbrook | 164,569 | 41.9 | |
| Libertarian | James J. Bouchard (write-in) | 276 | 0.1 | |
| Total votes | 392,391 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
District 2
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Poliquin: 50%–60% 60–70% Cain: 50%–60% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
Incumbent Republican Bruce Poliquin, who had represented the district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was elected with 47% of the vote in 2014. The district had a PVI of D+2.
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Bruce Poliquin, incumbent U.S. representative
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bruce Poliquin (incumbent) | 19,252 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 19,252 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic primary
After the 2014 election, Cain indicated she was interested in running against Poliquin in 2016.[16] In December 2014, Cain met with Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives, to discuss her potential candidacy.[17] On March 3, 2015, Cain announced that she would be running for the seat.[18]
Bangor City Councilors Joe Baldacci and Ben Sprague were mentioned as potential Democratic candidates.[19] Jeff McCabe, the majority leader of the Maine House of Representatives, indicated that he might run against Poliquin in 2016, but later said that he would not do so.[20]
Troy Jackson, the former majority leader of the Maine Senate, who lost to Cain in the 2014 Democratic primary election, had said he might run as an independent candidate,[21] but he elected to run for his former Senate seat instead.[22]
Candidates
Nominee
- Emily Cain, former state senator and nominee for this seat in 2014[18]
Withdrawn
- Joe Baldacci, Bangor city councilor and brother of former Governor of Maine and U.S. Representative John Baldacci[23]
Declined
- Troy Jackson, Democratic National Committee member, former state senator, candidate for the seat in 2014 (running for state senate)[18][22]
- Jeff McCabe, majority leader of the Maine House of Representatives[20]
- Ben Sprague, Bangor city councilor[18]
Endorsements
U.S. representatives
Organizations
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Emily Cain | 19,003 | 100.0 | |
| Total votes | 19,003 | 100 | ||
Independents
Withdrawn
- Mike Turcotte, adjunct professor at Eastern Maine Community College[26]
Declined
- Troy Jackson, Democratic National Committee member, former sate senator, candidate for the seat in 2014 (running for state senate)[21][22]
General election
Debates
- Complete video of debate, October 19, 2016
Endorsements
U.S. senators
- George J. Mitchell, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader (D-ME)[27]
U.S. representatives
Organizations
Newspapers
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Emily Cain (D) |
Bruce Poliquin (R) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of New Hampshire[30] | October 20–25, 2016 | 341 LV | ± 3.8% | 43% | 42% | 11% |
| Normington Petts (D-Cain)[31] | October 2–3, 2016 | 400 RV | ± 4.9% | 46% | 45% | 9% |
| University of New Hampshire[32] | September 15–20, 2016 | 231 LV | ± 6% | 35% | 45% | 15% |
| SurveyUSA[33] | September 4–10, 2016 | 397 LV | ± 5% | 45% | 50% | 6% |
| University of New Hampshire[13] | June 15–21, 2016 | 227 LV | ± 4.5% | 40% | 41% | 12% |
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Cook Political Report[6] | Tossup | November 7, 2016 |
| Daily Kos Elections[7] | Tossup | November 7, 2016 |
| Rothenberg[8] | Tossup | November 3, 2016 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[9] | Lean D (flip) | November 7, 2016 |
| RCP[10] | Tossup | October 31, 2016 |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Bruce Poliquin (incumbent) | 192,878 | 54.8 | |
| Democratic | Emily Cain | 159,081 | 45.2 | |
| Independent | Jay Parker Dresser (write-in) | 224 | 0.0 | |
| Total votes | 352,183 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||