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Residents vote in primary elections across Maine

Residents vote in primary elections across Maine

Photo: clipart.com


Turnout was light as Mainers headed to the polls for primary elections on Tuesday.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said there was no contested statewide race to bring out voters.

In the governor’s race, both Democratic incumbent Gov. Janet Mills and former Republican Gov. Paul LePage will be on the ballot in November. Both candidates ran unopposed in Tuesday’s primaries.

In one of the more closely watched races, Jacqueline Sartoris defeated incumbent Jonathan Sahrbeck for the Democratic nomination in the Cumberland County District Attorney’s race.

There are no Republican or Independent candidates are on the ballot. Sartoris will take over as DA following the November election unless someone launches a successful write-in campaign.

According to the Portland Press Herald, as of early Wednesday morning, Sartoris had just over 15,000 votes, 65 percent of the ballots. Sahrbeck had just over 8,000 votes for 35 percent.

Sahrbeck had recently switched to the Democratic party, and some wondered whether the move was genuine. During the race, Sahrbeck was criticized by an outside group that ran ads financed by a $300,000 donation from national Democratic donor George Soros.

In Maine’s 2nd congressional district, former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin defeated Liz Caruso.

Poliquin will face U.S. Rep. Jared Golden in the general election.

Golden narrowly defeated Poliquin four years ago in the first congressional election decided by ranked-choice voting in U.S. history.

As of early Wednesday morning, Poliquin had just over 18,000 votes, or 60 percent, while Caruso had just over 12,000 votes, or 40 percent.

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree and Republican Ed Thelander faced no challengers in primaries in Maine’s 1st congressional district.

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