Story perspectives

Maine Primaries Move to Ranked-Choice Runoff Friday

6/11/2026

Summary

Story summary

Maine's Republican and Democratic primaries have entered ranked-choice runoff after Bobby Charles posted 40% of the vote on 11% of ballots and Nirav Shah posted about 27%.
State officials say ranked-choice tabulation will start Friday, with a final winner expected by June 19.
Other candidates—Ben Midgley, Jonathan Bush, Hannah Pingree, Troy Jackson and Shenna Bellows—have urged supporters to rank each other, while Charles has asked his base to rank only him.

History

Historical Context

Maine adopted ranked-choice voting after a 2016 citizen referendum passed with 52% support. The system produced the nation’s first federal RCV win in the 2018 2nd-district House race, where Jared Golden overtook Bruce Poliquin after vote transfers. A June 19 primary runoff will again use RCV, pitting Republican and Democratic contenders under the same vote-transfer rules.

1 of 2

Story summary

Maine's Republican and Democratic primaries have entered ranked-choice runoff after Bobby Charles posted 40% of the vote on 11% of ballots and Nirav Shah posted about 27%.
State officials say ranked-choice tabulation will start Friday, with a final winner expected by June 19.
Other candidates—Ben Midgley, Jonathan Bush, Hannah Pingree, Troy Jackson and Shenna Bellows—have urged supporters to rank each other, while Charles has asked his base to rank only him.

1 / 2