2nd District Democratic primary going to runoff

 From left, Joe Baldacci, Matt Dunlap, Paige Loud and Jordan Wood during a 2nd District Democratic primary debate hosted by Maine Public and the Portland Press Herald in Lewiston on May 28. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer) [](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/election-2026/) _[Read all of our coverage](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/election-2026/) of Maine's 2026 election or stay up to date with the latest developments through the [Maine Political Report](https://www.pressherald.com/mprnewsletter/) in your inbox or [text messages](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/01/11/maine-political-news-sent-right-to-your-phone-sign-up-for-text-alerts-from-our-editor/) from politics editor Kirby Wilson._ BANGOR — State Sen. Joe Baldacci looked to be leading the Democratic field in Maine’s 2nd District primary Tuesday night, which will head to a ranked-choice runoff. With a little less than half of the votes counted, Baldacci, a 61-year-old former Bangor mayor who was endorsed by the national House Democratic campaign arm, had garnered about 33% of the vote as of 11:25 p.m. Trailing closely behind were: Jordan Wood, a 36-year-old Lewiston native who previously worked in Washington (30%) and Matt Dunlap, a 61-year-old former secretary of state and Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine leader from Old Town (28%). Paige Loud looked poised to finish a distant fourth. [](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/IMG_1232-e1781059817319.jpg) 2nd Congressional District candidate Joe Baldacci (center), a Democratic state senator from Bangor, is pictured with his wife, Beth, and supporters at this election night party at Sea Dog Brewing in Bangor. (Billy Kobin/Staff Writer) The Associated Press officially declared the race will go to a runoff around 10:45 p.m. The eventual winner will face Republican former Gov. Paul LePage for the right to succeed U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a moderate Democrat who opted against seeking a fifth term this year. Maine’s ranked-choice voting system [allows](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/03/it-could-take-days-to-know-the-winners-of-the-maine-primaries-heres-why/) for a redistribution of votes based on second and third choices if no candidate gets more than 50% support in the initial round. The retabulation process goes until a candidate receives a majority of votes. State officials have said the process could take up to two weeks to determine final results. Related [Maine Election Day is Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know.](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/08/election-day-is-tuesday-heres-what-you-need-to-know/) The 2nd District, which covers much of Maine’s northern half, has backed President Donald Trump in each of his elections. During his four victorious runs for the seat, Golden, 43, found a winning recipe that included voting with the GOP on certain issues while remaining more progressive on other matters such as abortion rights and campaign finance to consistently beat back Republican challengers. Advertisement The four Democrats in this year’s race have all positioned themselves to Golden’s left on a variety of topics, such as Trump’s aggressive tariffs and the Iran war. [](https://w2pcms.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/43629001_SJ_ElectionJordanWOOD_0610262.jpg) Auburn resident, Steven Doyle, right, talks with Maine Congressional candidate, Jordan Wood Tuesday morning outside the polling place at the Auburn Community Senior Center. “Health care is a big issue for me as well as removing money from politics. We want an honest seat at the table that’s not influenced by corporate packs and other countries. He looked me square in the eye and promised me he would address these issues if elected and I believe him. It’s time for change.” said Doyle after voting.(Russ Dillingham/Staff Photographer) [Purchase this image](https://dev.mainetodaymedia.com/smugmug/upload.php?data=%7B%22src%22%3A%22https%3A%5C%2F%5C%2Fwww.pressherald.com%5C%2Fwp-content%5C%2Fuploads%5C%2Fsites%5C%2F4%5C%2F2026%5C%2F06%5C%2F43629001_SJ_ElectionJordanWOOD_0610262.jpg%22%2C%22caption%22%3A%22Auburn%20resident%2C%20Steven%20Doyle%2C%20right%2C%20talks%20with%20Maine%20Congressional%20candidate%2C%20Jordan%20Wood%20Tuesday%20morning%20outside%20the%20polling%20place%20at%20the%20Auburn%20Community%20Senior%20Center.%20%5C%22Health%20care%20is%20a%20big%20issue%20for%20me%20as%20well%20as%20removing%20money%20from%20politics.%20We%20want%20an%20honest%20seat%20at%20the%20table%20that%27s%20not%20influenced%20by%20corporate%20packs%20and%20other%20countries.%20He%20looked%20me%20square%20in%20the%20eye%20and%20promised%20me%20he%20would%20address%20these%20issues%20if%20elected%20and%20I%20believe%20him.%20It%27s%20time%20for%20change.%5C%22%20said%20Doyle%20after%20voting.%28Russ%20Dillingham%5C%2FStaff%20Photographer%29%22%7D) The primary started out fairly friendly before schisms formed when Baldacci [received](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/05/04/national-democrats-back-joe-baldacci-in-2nd-congressional-district/) the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s support in May. Dunlap, Wood and Loud joined together to bash Baldacci for both that endorsement and for having a national super PAC [run ads on his behalf](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/05/20/2nd-district-democrats-team-up-on-baldacci-over-pac-money/). Still, Dunlap has benefited from outside spending as well. A shadowy PAC that appears tied to Republicans [started spending money in May](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/05/27/why-a-shadowy-pac-is-spending-in-a-maine-democratic-primary/) to go after Baldacci while ostensibly supporting Dunlap. (Dunlap said he did not want the super PAC support.) The Democratic winner is hoping to hold onto the seat for the party, which only needs to flip a few seats nationally to take back the U.S. House from Republicans. LePage, who was a combative governor from 2011 to 2019 with a penchant for controversial comments, has Trump’s support. He did not face a primary challenge Tuesday. And on Monday, Trump wrote a Truth Social post praising LePage and bashing Dunlap, predicting the latter would advance out of the primary. LePage, 77, [moved back from Florida to Maine](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/03/26/paul-lepage-is-using-an-augusta-apartment-for-his-political-comeback/) to seek a political comeback that would make him one of the oldest freshman House members in history. Copy the Story Link Tagged: [2nd district 2026](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/2nd-district-2026/), [election 2026](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/election-2026/), [Joe Baldacci](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/joe-baldacci/), [Jordan Wood](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/jordan-wood/), [Matt Dunlap](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/matt-dunlap/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/billy-kobin) [Billy KobinStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/billy-kobin) Billy covers politics for the Press Herald. He joined the newsroom in 2026 after also covering politics for the Bangor Daily News for about two and a half years. Before moving to Maine in 2023, the Wisconsin. [More by Billy Kobin](https://www.pressherald.com/author/billy-kobin)