The winner of Maine's crucial 2nd Congressional District race is still being determined

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, a moderate known for defying party orthodoxy, was defending his congressional seat against Austin Theriault, a stock car driver and Republican state representative, but the race was over too early to announce on Wednesday morning.

The duel between Golden and Theriault is one of a few crucial races with a chance of influencing control of the U.S. House of Representatives in a closely contested election year. It took place in the largest congressional district by area on the East Coast, a largely rural part of Maine where the former president was Donald Trump is very popular with voters.

Early Wednesday, the two were in a tight race as a majority of the votes had yet to be counted.

Golden is a former Marine who is in his third term representing the 2nd Congressional District, commonly referred to as the swing district. The county covers a large swath of Maine, including a handful of small towns, but is perhaps best known as the home of traditional northern New England industries such as lobster fishing and logging.

During the campaign, Golden praised his ability to work with members of both political parties and his commitment to the lobster industry, which is the lifeblood of the region's economy.

“At a time when national discussions are so often dominated by divisive politics and personalities, I feel good about leading a campaign focused on the issues that matter to Mainers – our safety, our freedoms, our Health care and our jobs,” Golden said in a statement Tuesday.

Theriault, who was first elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 2022, spent much of the campaign portraying Golden as too liberal for the district. Although Theriault enjoyed Trump's support, he also sought to portray himself as a potential unifier at a time of division in Washington.

“Let’s keep the faith and keep praying – we still have a lot of votes to count,” Theriault said in a social media post early Wednesday.

Golden was first elected to Congress in 2018, when he needed ranked-choice voting to defeat incumbent Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin. Golden has since been re-elected twice, including defeating Poliquin in 2022 without the need for ranking.

Golden's victory in 2018 marked the first time a member of Congress was elected via ranked-choice voting. It seemed unlikely that voting method would play a role in this year's election, as there was no third-party candidate on the ballot, although write-in candidates were still possible.

Golden retained his seat even though Trump dominated the district in the recent presidential election. Maine is one of two states to divide the electoral vote by congressional district — Nebraska is the other — and Trump has twice won his only New England electoral vote in Maine's 2nd District.

Maine's other electoral votes – two for the statewide vote and one for the 1st Congressional District – went to the Democratic candidate because the deep blue 1st District is centered around Portland, the state's largest city and a liberal stronghold. Golden ran campaign ads during the race about his willingness to work with Trump for the benefit of the 2nd District.

In the 1st Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree won her ninth term against Republican challenger Ron Russell and independent Ethan Alcorn.