NPR quotes Brewer in report on 2nd District election speculation
NPR quoted Mark Brewer, a professor of political science at the University of Maine, in the report “This Maine District Went for Obama, Then Trump. Now It’s a Toss-Up.” The report focused on the political history of Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, which was held by Democrats for 20 years before the election of Republican House Rep. Bruce Poliquin in 2014. And before the election of President Donald Trump, the district had been won by Democratic presidential candidates since Bill Clinton in 1992, the report states. The contest for Maine’s 2nd District House seat is a toss-up between incumbent Rep. Poliquin and Democratic challenger Jared Golden, with two independent candidates not expected to pose a significant challenge, according to NPR. Maine has implemented ranked-choice voting for federal elections. This means that “if you were to go and get your ballot today and vote, you’d be given the option to rank those four candidates, one through four. One being your top choice and four being your last choice,” said Brewer. If no candidate in the race receives a majority vote, the last-place finisher is eliminated and for those who ranked that candidate first and made a second choice, “those votes are then allocated to their second-choice candidate,” he explained. Brewer said it’s “fascinating to watch.” Maine Public carried the NPR report.