Maine is a weird place for politics. I mean that in the best way possible. While almost every other state in the country (looking at you, 48 others) just throws all their chips on one candidate, Maine likes to slice the pie. If you were watching the 2024 United States presidential election in Maine, you saw exactly how that quirk plays out in real-time. It’s one of only two states—Nebraska being the other—that doesn’t use a winner-take-all system for its electoral votes.
Basically, they have four electoral votes. Two go to the statewide winner, and then one goes to the winner of each of the two congressional districts.
In 2024, the state did exactly what it’s been doing lately: it split. Kamala Harris took the statewide win and the 1st District, while Donald Trump walked away with the 2nd District.
It wasn't a shocker. Most people saw this coming a mile away. But the numbers under the hood? Those tell a much more interesting story about where the "Pine Tree State" is heading. Harris ended up with 435,652 votes statewide (52.4%), and Trump grabbed 377,977 (45.5%). Honestly, it was a bit closer than 2020, but Harris still cleared the hurdle comfortably at the state level.
How the Split Actually Went Down
To really get the 2024 United States presidential election in Maine, you have to understand the "Two Maines." There’s the coast and the southern cities—think Portland, South Portland, and the cute towns in York County. That’s District 1. It’s blue. Deep blue. Harris crushed it there with nearly 60% of the vote.
Then there’s District 2. This is the "huge" part of Maine. It’s rural, it’s woods, it’s mountains, and it’s increasingly Republican. Trump didn't just win here; he won it for the third time in a row. He grabbed 53.8% of the vote in the 2nd District, which is actually a better performance than he had in 2020.
This split is becoming a Maine tradition. We saw it in 2016 and 2020, too. It’s funny because, for decades, this never happened. Before 2016, the last time Maine split was... never. Since they adopted the system in 1972, they went 44 years without a split until Trump showed up on the scene. Now, it feels like the new normal.
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The Ranked-Choice Factor (Or Lack Thereof)
Maine is also famous for Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV). People get all worked up about it, thinking it’s going to flip every election upside down. For the presidential race, however, it didn't even come into play this time.
Why? Because both candidates cleared 50% in their respective areas.
- Harris got over 52% statewide.
- Harris got nearly 60% in the 1st District.
- Trump got nearly 54% in the 2nd District.
When someone gets more than 50% of the first-choice votes, the "ranking" part of the ballot just goes in the trash. You don't need to count the second choices if someone already won the majority. It’s kinda anticlimactic for the RCV fans, but that’s how the law works.
A Closer Look at the Counties
If you zoom in on the map, you see the divide clearly. Cumberland County is the powerhouse for Democrats. Harris pulled over 70% in places like Falmouth and Cumberland, and a whopping 80.5% in Portland. That’s where the raw numbers come from. Even if Trump wins 10 rural counties, the sheer volume of people in Portland and its suburbs makes it hard for a Republican to win the state "at-large."
But Trump has a vice grip on the north. In places like Aroostook County and Piscataquis County, the margins are heavy for the GOP. In Caribou, Trump took almost 60% of the vote. In smaller townships like Lebanon, he was pushing 66%.
The "swing" towns are where things get spicy. Look at Lewiston. It’s a blue-leaning city but has a strong working-class base that leans conservative on certain issues. Harris won Lewiston with about 52.9%, but it’s always a battleground. Same with Bangor. These are the places that determine if the statewide margin is +9 or +6. In 2024, it was +6.9 for Harris, which is a slight shift to the right compared to Joe Biden's +9 in 2020.
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The Jared Golden Effect
You can't talk about the 2024 United States presidential election in Maine without mentioning the 2nd District's Congressional race. Jared Golden, the Democrat incumbent, managed to win his seat again, even while Trump was winning his district by 10 points.
That is incredibly hard to do.
It means a significant chunk of people in Northern Maine walked into the booth, voted for Donald Trump for President, and then immediately voted for Jared Golden for Congress. Golden’s "Blue Dog" style—being moderate, sometimes bucking his own party on guns or spending—clearly resonates with Mainers who hate being told what to do by national party leaders. It took a ranked-choice runoff and a recount for Golden to officially beat Republican Austin Theriault, but he did it. This proves that while the presidential race is polarized, Maine voters still have a streak of independence.
Voter Turnout and the "Ground Game"
Mainers show up. Period.
The turnout for the 2024 United States presidential election in Maine was roughly 74.2%. To put that in perspective, the national average usually hovers way lower. Maine consistently ranks in the top five states for voter participation. Maybe it’s the sense of civic duty, or maybe it’s just that there’s not much else to do on a Tuesday in November once the leaves have fallen. Either way, people vote.
There was a lot of talk about "No Labels" or third parties like Jill Stein and Chase Oliver. Honestly? They didn't do much.
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- Jill Stein (Green): 1.1%
- Chase Oliver (Libertarian): 0.6%
People were locked into the top of the ticket. The "double haters"—people who didn't like either major candidate—mostly ended up picking a side or staying home, because the third-party numbers were pretty negligible in the final tally.
What Most People Get Wrong About Maine
A common misconception is that Maine is a "Safe Blue" state. If you just look at the statewide results, sure, it looks that way. But that’s a lazy take.
Maine is actually a purple state that happens to have a very blue corner in the south. If the GOP ever managed to cut into those Portland margins by even 5-10%, or if turnout in the rural north spiked while the south stayed home, the state could flip. Trump’s performance in 2024 was actually the best percentage for a Republican in Maine since George H.W. Bush. He’s chipping away at the "Blue Wall" in the Northeast, even if he hasn't knocked it down yet.
Another thing? The "Ranked Choice" confusion. People think it helps Democrats. In reality, it’s neutral. It helped Jared Golden in the House race, but it didn't touch the presidential results. It's a tool, not a kingmaker.
The Actionable Takeaway for Voters
If you're a political junkie or just a Maine resident trying to make sense of the 2024 United States presidential election in Maine, here is what you should actually do with this information:
- Watch the 2nd District: It is one of the last true "swing" districts in the country. What happens there—specifically the split between presidential and local voting—is a bellwether for the rest of the rural U.S.
- Don't ignore the suburbs: The 2024 results showed that the suburbs around Portland (towns like Gorham, Windham, and Scarborough) are getting even more firmly entrenched in the Democratic camp. This is what's keeping the state blue at-large.
- Check your registration: Maine has some of the easiest voting laws (same-day registration!), but with the 2026 midterms approaching, it’s worth making sure your info is current on the Maine Secretary of State website.
- Understand the "Split": If you live in a winner-take-all state, advocate for the Maine/Nebraska model if you want your specific region to have more of a voice. It’s the reason presidential candidates actually bother to visit Bangor or Presque Isle.
Maine’s political landscape is shifting, but slowly. It’s a game of inches, and in 2024, those inches mostly favored the status quo—a divided state for a divided time.