AUGUSTA, Maine — At the Burton Cross Building on Saturday, Secretary of State staff are working to determine who the republican candidate will be in the 2nd Congressional District.
"We're probably a little more than halfway through the process," Julie Flynn, deputy secretary of state said.
The race between Adrienne Bennett, Eric Brakey, and Dale Crafts is being decided by Ranked Choice because none of the three candidates received more than 50% of the votes.
Crafts has 44.9%, Bennett has 32.6%, and Brakey has 22.6%.
Although Bennett and Brakey both conceded and endorsed Crafts, officials still have to go through the process.
"We don't have any wiggle room there," Flynn said. "We have to follow the law and carry it all the way out."
On Saturday, Crafts' team released a statement on Ranked Choice Voting.
"I understand that RCV is the law of the land and Secretary Dunlap is performing his duty under the law, it seems completely ridiculous to me that we would perform a dog and pony show at a cost of tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to the taxpayer. As a businessman I understand that you don’t spend money you don’t need on things you can’t afford. I understand that liberals love the Ranked Choice Voting scheme, but to spend money on something that doesn’t even matter is offensive to me as a taxpayer.”
Adding incumbent Congressman Jared Golden has gotten a headstart on campaigning so the Crafts team will continue to travel the state to spread his message to voters.
The Secretary of State's Office says results from the ranked-choice tabulation will be announced Tuesday at 10 a.m. Tabulations will include the Congressional District 2 race and the five legislative races subject to RCV, which are House Districts 41, 47, 49, and 90; and Senate District 11.
