Ranked-choice tabulation starts in key Maine primary races

 Staffers arrange sealed metal boxes holding paper ballots from Aroostook County that will be run through a tabulating machine during ranked-choice voting tabulation for Republican and Democratic gubernatorial and Democratic 2nd Congressional District primaries at the Department of Public Safety headquarters in Augusta on Friday. (Joe Phelan/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._ State officials on Friday started the process of calculating ranked-choice voting results in three key Maine primary races, with results expected to come sometime next week. Ranked-choice runoffs are being conducted in both of Maine’s gubernatorial primaries, along with the Democratic primary in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. Additional runoffs may also be required in some state legislative races, but officials are still working to determine if those will be needed. [In the Democratic primary for governor](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/09/extremely-close-maine-democratic-governor-primary-likely-headed-to-ranked-choice-runoff/), former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah secured nearly 27% of the vote Tuesday, according to unofficial results from The Associated Press. He was followed by Hannah Pingree (23.3%), Troy Jackson (21%), Shenna Bellows (20.7%) and Angus King III (8.3%). The first round of the ranked-choice runoff will eliminate King, the last-place finisher, and redistribute the second-place choices of his supporters, with that process continuing until a single candidate exceeds the 50% mark. Related [What to watch for as Maine races head to ranked-choice runoffs](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/10/what-to-watch-for-as-maine-races-head-to-ranked-choice-runoffs/) The same process will follow in the other races. [In the eight-way Republican primary](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/09/bobby-charles-surges-to-the-top-of-republican-governor-primary/) for governor, former federal official Bobby Charles is leading with 37.7% of the vote, followed by Ben Midgley (20.1%) and Jonathan Bush (19.8%), according to unofficial results. State [Sen. Jim Libby, R-Standish, dropped out of the race in April](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/04/09/republican-running-for-governor-fails-to-qualify-for-maine-elections-funding/) but was still on the ballot. Libby’s votes were still counted because he didn’t formally withdraw, and he will be the first candidate eliminated in the automatic runoffs. [In the 2nd District race](https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/09/2nd-district-democratic-primary-going-to-runoff-to-determine-who-faces-paul-lepage-in-november/), three candidates are nearly tied. State Sen. Joe Baldacci, D-Bangor, leads with 31.6% of the vote, followed by Matt Dunlap (29.3%) and Jordan Wood (28.8%). Social worker Paige Loud (10.3%) conceded the race Wednesday. Advertisement Over the last few days, law enforcement officials went around the state collecting memory devices containing ballot information from towns that use tabulator devices, and paper ballots from towns that count them by hand. About 155 of 487 Maine communities hand count their ballots. The tabulation is being conducted at the Maine Department of Public Safety headquarters in Augusta, where elections staff will spend the next several days loading ballots into a high-speed tabulator; unsealing and uploading all memory devices; and hand-entering any ballots that the tabulator can’t process, if they are crumpled or in poor condition.  A law enforcement officer pushes a cart full of locked and sealed metal boxes holding paper ballots and memory sticks during ranked choice voting tabulation for Republican and Democratic gubernatorial and Democratic second Congressional district primaries Friday at the Department of Public Safety headquarters in Augusta. (Joe Phelan/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%2F43647471_20260612_RCVSTart_2331.jpg%22%2C%22caption%22%3A%22A%20law%20enforcement%20officer%20pushes%20a%20cart%20full%20of%20locked%20and%20sealed%20metal%20boxes%20holding%20paper%20ballots%20and%20memory%20sticks%20during%20ranked%20choice%20voting%20tabulation%20for%20Republican%20and%20Democratic%20gubernatorial%20and%20Democratic%20second%20Congressional%20district%20primaries%20Friday%20at%20the%20Department%20of%20Public%20Safety%20headquarters%20in%20Augusta.%20%28Joe%20Phelan%5C%2FStaff%20Photographer%29%22%7D) View 5 photos When all of that processing work is complete, a software program applies the ranked-choices according to Maine law to quickly calculate the final result. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who is a Democratic candidate for governor, has recused herself from the process, which is being run by other officials in her department. Chief Deputy Secretary of State Kate McBrien said Friday that it’s too soon to say when exactly final results will be ready. “What we’re going to do is do all of that work, all of that processing and scanning first,” she said. “Then we will run the tabulation for the races, so we won’t have that until the very end.” The secretary of state’s office is providing a livestream of the process on the department’s [YouTube page](https://www.youtube.com/@mesecofstate), and it is also open to the public to observe in-person. McBrien noted, however, that “as important as this is, it’s not the most exciting thing to watch.” Copy the Story Link Tagged: [election 2026](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/election-2026/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/rachel-ohm) [Rachel OhmStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/rachel-ohm) Rachel covers state government and politics for the Portland Press Herald. It’s her third beat at the paper after stints covering City Hall and education. Prior to her arrival at the Press Herald in. [More by Rachel Ohm](https://www.pressherald.com/author/rachel-ohm)