Maine's 2nd congressional district


Maine's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Maine. Covering, it comprises nearly 80% of the state's total land area. It is the largest district east of the Mississippi River and the 24th-largest overall. It is the second-most rural district in the United States, with 72.11% of its population in rural areas, behind only Kentucky's 5th congressional district.
The district comprises most of the land area north of the Portland and Augusta metropolitan areas. It includes the cities of Lewiston, Bangor, Auburn and Presque Isle. It included the city of Waterville until 2011, when Maine's Congressional redistricting process following the 2010 US Census led to a shift of district boundaries within Kennebec County.
The district is currently represented by Democrat Jared Golden, who took office in 2019.
Historically, the district has tended to elect members from both parties and keep its incumbents. When Golden defeated two-term Republican incumbent Bruce Poliquin in 2018, it was the first time an incumbent had lost reelection in the district since 1916.
Since 1965, the district's representatives have frequently sought statewide office. Three U.S. Senators, one Governor, and one nominee for Governor all previously held the seat.

History

Until the Missouri Compromise was reached in 1820, Maine was a part of Massachusetts as the District of Maine. When it became a state in 1820, Maine had seven congressional districts credited to it. Since Maine became a state, all but two districts have been reallocated to other states.
In 2018 the district became the first in the United States to elect the ranked choice winner over the first-past-the-post winner, after a referendum in 2016 changed Maine's electoral system from the latter system to the former. Incumbent representative Bruce Poliquin won a plurality of the first preference votes. However, the second and third preferences from two independent candidates flowed overwhelmingly to Jared Golden, allowing him to win with 50.6% of the vote once all preferences were distributed.

Election results from presidential races

In US presidential elections, most states give all the state's electoral votes to the candidate that wins the statewide popular vote. This is a type of winner-takes-all voting. Maine and Nebraska instead use the congressional district method, where the winner in each of the state's congressional districts gets one electoral vote, and the statewide winner gets an additional two electoral votes. Since Maine introduced this system in 1969, Maine's second district voted the same way as the entire state of Maine for every election until 2016.
YearResults
1972Nixon 62 – 38%
1976Ford 49 – 48%
1980Reagan 46 – 43%
1984Reagan 62 – 38%
1988Bush 55 – 45%
1992Clinton 38 – 33% - 28%
1996Clinton 51 – 30%
2000Gore 47 – 46%
2004Kerry 52 – 46%
2008Obama 55 – 43%
2012Obama 53 – 44%
2016Trump 51 – 41%

Composition

The boundaries of the District are open for reconsideration in light of population shifts revealed by the decennial US Census. Until 2011, Maine's constitution provided for the state to reapportion the Congressional districts based on census data every ten years beginning in 1983, which would have meant that the state was next due to consider redistricting in 2013. However, a federal lawsuit filed in March 2011 led to a requirement that Maine speed up its redistricting process. Maine state legislators approved new boundaries on September 27, 2011.

2013 – 2023

Recent election results