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Paul LePage officially secures Republicans' lone congressional seat in New England

Maine Public | By Steve Mistler
Published November 12, 2026 at 3:50 PM EST
Former Republican Gov. Paul LePage declares victory in Maine's 2nd Congressional District race during a press conference in Bangor on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. At the time, late results were still coming in and the race had yet to be called for either LePage or Democrat Matt Dunlap.
Kevin Miller
/
Maine Public
Former Republican Gov. Paul LePage declares victory in Maine's 2nd Congressional District race during a press conference in Bangor on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. At the time, late results were still coming in and the race had yet to be called for either LePage or Democrat Matt Dunlap.

Former Republican Gov. Paul LePage secured his victory in Maine's 2nd Congressional District race Thursday after a ranked-choice runoff held in Augusta.

LePage defeated Democrat Matt Dunlap by roughly 5,400 votes. He led Dunlap narrowly after the initial tally on Election Day, but did not secure the outright majority to avoid the runoff.

His victory marks the lone bright spot for Maine Republicans after devastating midterm losses that ended Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins' 30-year career and strengthened Democrats' hold on state government.

LePage will become the only Republican member of Congress in New England when he's sworn in in January.
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New England News Collaborative
Steve Mistler
Journalist Steve Mistler is Maine Public’s chief politics and government correspondent. He is based at the State House.
See stories by Steve Mistler

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Federal funding is gone.

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