# 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine

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The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the two U.S. representatives from the state of Maine, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on June 14.

## Overview
### Statewide

Popular vote
Democratic
51.93%
Republican
48.01% :
House seats
Democratic
50.00%
Republican
50.00% :

### By district

Results of the 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Maine by district:
| District | Democratic | Democratic | Republican | Republican | Others | Others | Total | Total | Result |
| District | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Result |
| District 1 | 227,546 | 57.99% | 164,569 | 41.94% | 276 | 0.07% | 392,391 | 100.0% | Democratic hold |
| District 2 | 159,081 | 45.17% | 192,878 | 54.77% | 224 | 0.06% | 352,183 | 100.0% | Republican hold |
| Total | 386,627 | 51.93% | 357,447 | 48.01% | 500 | 0.07% | 744,574 | 100.0% | |

## District 1

Incumbent Democrat Chellie Pingree, who had represented the district since 2009, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 60% of the vote in 2014. The district had a PVI of D+9.

### Democratic primary
#### Candidates
##### Nominee

* Chellie Pingree, incumbent U.S. representative

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Chellie Pingree (incumbent) | 28,143 | 100.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 28,143 | 100.0 |

### Republican primary
#### Candidates
##### Nominee

* Mark Holbrook, professional counselor

##### Eliminated in primary

* Ande Smith, United States Navy veteran and attorney

#### Debate

2016 Maine's 1st congressional district republican primary debate :
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Republican | Republican |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | | |
| Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Key: P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited W Withdrawn | Mark Holbrook | Ande Smith |
| 1 | Jun. 7, 2016 | WMTW (TV) | Paul Merrill | | P | P |

#### Results

After a recount, Holbrook was declared the winner with a margin of 57 votes.
Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Mark Holbrook | 10,360 | 50.1 |
| | Republican | Ande Smith | 10,303 | 49.9 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 20,663 | 100.0 |

### General election
#### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Chellie Pingree (D) | Mark Holbrook (R) | Other | Undecided |
| University of New Hampshire | September 15–20, 2016 | 266 LV | ± 6.0% | 64% | 22% | 2% | 12% |
| SurveyUSA | September 4–10, 2016 | 382 LV | ± 5.1% | 57% | 37% | – | 7% |
| University of New Hampshire | June 15–21, 2016 | 248 LV | ± 4.5% | 56% | 34% | – | 10% |
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Chellie Pingree (D) | Ande Smith (R) |
| University of New Hampshire | June 15–21, 2016 | 248 LV | ± 4.5% | 55% | 34% |

#### Endorsements

Organizations
* Equality Maine

#### Results

Maine's 1st congressional district, 2016 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Chellie Pingree (incumbent) | 227,546 | 58.0 |
| | Republican | Mark Holbrook | 164,569 | 41.9 |
| | Libertarian | James J. Bouchard (write-in) | 276 | 0.1 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 392,391 | 100.0 |
| | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold | Democratic hold |

## District 2

Incumbent Republican Bruce Poliquin, who had represented the district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was elected with 47% of the vote in 2014. The district had a PVI of D+2.

### Republican primary
#### Candidates
##### Nominee

* Bruce Poliquin, incumbent U.S. representative

#### Results

Republican primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Bruce Poliquin (incumbent) | 19,252 | 100.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 19,252 | 100.0 |

### Democratic primary

After the 2014 election, Cain indicated she was interested in running against Poliquin in 2016. In December 2014, Cain met with Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives, to discuss her potential candidacy. On March 3, 2015, Cain announced that she would be running for the seat.
Bangor City Councilors Joe Baldacci and Ben Sprague were mentioned as potential Democratic candidates. Jeff McCabe, the Majority Leader of the Maine House of Representatives, indicated that he might run against Poliquin in 2016, but later said that he would not do so.
Troy Jackson, the former Majority Leader of the Maine Senate, who lost to Cain in the 2014 Democratic primary election, had said he might run as an independent candidate, but he elected to run for his former Senate seat instead.

#### Candidates
##### Nominee

* Emily Cain, former state senator and nominee for this seat in 2014

##### Withdrawn

* Joe Baldacci, Bangor City Councilor and brother of former Governor of Maine and U.S. Representative John Baldacci

##### Declined

* Troy Jackson, Democratic National Committee member, former sate senator, candidate for the seat in 2014 (running for state senate)
* Jeff McCabe, Majority Leader of the Maine House of Representatives
* Ben Sprague, Bangor City Councilor

##### Endorsements

U.S. Representatives
* Nancy Pelosi, Minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-CA)
Organizations
* EMILY's List
* Equality Maine

#### Results

Democratic primary results :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Emily Cain | 19,003 | 100.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 19,003 | 100 |

### Independents
#### Withdrawn

* Mike Turcotte, adjunct professor at Eastern Maine Community College

#### Declined

* Troy Jackson, Democratic National Committee member, former sate senator, candidate for the seat in 2014 (running for State Senate)

### General election
#### Debates

* Complete video of debate, October 19, 2016

#### Endorsements

U.S. Senators
* George J. Mitchell, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader (D-ME)
U.S. Representatives
* Nancy Pelosi, Minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives (D-CA)
Organizations
* EMILY's List
* Equality Maine
Newspapers
* Bangor Daily News
* MaineToday Media newspapers: Portland Press Herald, Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel

#### Polling

| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Emily Cain (D) | Bruce Poliquin (R) | Undecided |
| University of New Hampshire | October 20–25, 2016 | 341 LV | ± 3.8% | 43% | 42% | 11% |
| Normington Petts (D-Cain) | October 2–3, 2016 | 400 RV | ± 4.9% | 46% | 45% | 9% |
| University of New Hampshire | September 15–20, 2016 | 231 LV | ± 6% | 35% | 45% | 15% |
| SurveyUSA | September 4–10, 2016 | 397 LV | ± 5% | 45% | 50% | 6% |
| University of New Hampshire | June 15–21, 2016 | 227 LV | ± 4.5% | 40% | 41% | 12% |

#### Predictions

| Source | Ranking | As of |
| The Cook Political Report | Tossup | November 7, 2016 |
| Daily Kos Elections | Tossup | November 7, 2016 |
| Rothenberg | Tossup | November 3, 2016 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball | Lean D (flip) | November 7, 2016 |
| RCP | Tossup | October 31, 2016 |

#### Results

Maine's 2nd congressional district, 2016 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Republican | Bruce Poliquin (incumbent) | 192,878 | 54.8 |
| | Democratic | Emily Cain | 159,081 | 45.2 |
| | Independent | Jay Parker Dresser (write-in) | 224 | 0.0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 352,183 | 100.0 |
| | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold | Republican hold |