Theriault ends recount, confirming Golden’s win in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District

Republican nominee Austin Theriault on Wednesday ended the recount for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, officially handing the win to incumbent U.S. Rep. Jared Golden.

“After the recount of all ballots from Aroostook County, the City of Bangor, and Kennebec County CD2 municipalities, as well as from much of the City of Lewiston, validated unofficial results, Austin Theriault’s campaign ended the recount of the Congressional District 2 General Election this afternoon,” wrote Office of the Secretary of State communications director Emily Cook in a statement. “This confirms Congressman Jared Golden’s re-election.”

In a statement, Theriault, a former legislator, said it has been “the honor of my life to run to represent Mainers in Washington. This was an extremely close and hard-fought race and I’m humbled by the tremendous reception we received from all corners of the district.”

Theriault congratulated Golden and said he looks forward “to working with him, the rest of the delegation, and the Maine people to continue to fight for our state.”

Confirming that Theriault had called to concede earlier Wednesday, Golden said in a statement that he appreciated “Austin’s service in Augusta and his dedication to the people of Maine.”

A ranked-choice tabulation, which was required since neither candidate on the ballot secured more than 50% of the vote, had shown the Democrat leading with 197,151 votes to Theriault’s 194,445. That is a difference of about 2,700 votes or 0.7%. Since the margin of victory was less than 1%, Theriault was able to request a state-funded recount.

Theriault’s campaign said Wednesday that the recount process had answered all outstanding questions that the campaign had about counts in certain towns.

The race was among the most competitive for the U.S. House and Golden’s victory is seen as an upset for Democrats in an otherwise challenging national election. It marks the beginning of the third congressional term for the moderate, who has said he is willing to work with Republicans including the incoming Trump administration, to advance priorities that he believes will help his constituents.

“I’d like to thank the voters for participating in the greatest democracy the world has ever known, and all the staff and volunteers who helped ensure the election’s integrity on Election Day, during the runoff and over the course of this recount,” Golden said Wednesday. “I’m already back in D.C. preparing for the next Congress, where I will continue to work hard with anyone, from any party, to do what’s best for Maine’s working families.”