Election live updates: Who wins the House, uncalled Senate races, results

Maine election officials say so a crucial congressional race in the state must go to ranked-choice counting to determine a winner.

The Democratic Rep. Maine’s Jared Golden, a moderate known for defying his party, led by a thin margin over Republican Austin Theriault on Friday in a race that was still too early to call days after voting closed.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said late Thursday that none of the candidates broke 50% of the total vote, meaning ranked ballots must be counted. The Associated Press has not called the race.

Ranked voting typically comes into play in races with more than two candidates on the ballot. Golden and Theriault were the only candidates in the 2nd Congressional District race, but write-in candidates were an option and some voters used it.

Theriault said Thursday he was requesting a recount in the election, although the results had not yet been tabulated at the time. A spokesman for the Golden campaign said the recount is fair, but the ranked count is unnecessary.

“State Rep. Theriault has asserted his right to a recount by hand, and Congressman Golden accepts it. So let’s just do it, rather than incur the delays and expense of a runoff with a ranked election,” the campaign said in a statement.

The Theriault campaign signaled Friday that it supported the ranked count.

“There is a process in place and we look forward to that process unfolding according to the law,” campaign manager Shawn Roderick said.

In ranked choice voting, the second choices of voters who chose a losing candidate are redistributed to the higher finishers.