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The2016 United States presidential election in Maine was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, as part of the2016 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus theDistrict of Columbia participated.Maine voters chose electors to represent them in theElectoral College via a popular vote, pitting theRepublican Party's nominee, businessman, reality television host ofThe Apprentice, media personality and real estate mogulDonald Trump, and running mateIndiana GovernorMike Pence againstDemocratic Party nominee, formerSecretary of StateHillary Clinton, and her running mate VirginiaSenatorTim Kaine. Maine has four electoral votes in the Electoral College.[1] Unlike all other states exceptNebraska, Maine awards two electoral votes based on the statewide vote, and one vote for each congressional district. The last time it did so was in1828.[2]
Maine was once one of the most Republican states in the nation. It voted for the Democratic ticket only three times (1912,1964, and1968) from1856 to 1988, but a Democrat has won the state's popular vote in every election since then. Although regarded as a safe blue state prior to the election, Maine shifted dramatically and unexpectedly towards the Republicans, with Clinton's 2.96% margin of victory the narrowest for a Democrat since 1988, when Republicans last won the state, and well down on Obama's 15.29% margin in2012. As a measure of how Republican Maine once was at the presidential level, Trump is only the third Republican to win the White House without winning the popular vote in Maine after Richard Nixon in1968 and George W. Bush in both his2000 and2004 campaigns. Maine's significant Republican shift was largely attributed to Trump's stronger than expected support from the state'srural whiteworking class voters, a demographic that overwhelmingly supported Obama in the previous two elections.
On election day, Clinton carried Maine's two at-large electoral votes with a plurality and wonMaine's 1st congressional district, while Trump wonMaine's 2nd congressional district, making him the first Republican to do so sinceGeorge H. W. Bush in1988[a] and also making him the first Republican to win an electoral vote from aNew England state sinceGeorge W. Bush wonNew Hampshire in2000. In addition to the historic electoral vote split in Maine, this marked the first time that such a split occurred after Maine began awarding electoral votes based on congressional districts in 1972. This was also the second time that a state split its Electoral College vote by congressional district sinceNebraska in2008.
BothHillary Clinton andBernie Sanders were on the ballot inMaine for theDemocratic Presidential caucuses. Ahead of thecaucuses, polling suggested that Sanders had a slight lead over Clinton.
| Maine Democratic caucuses, March 6, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | State convention delegates | Estimated delegates | |||
| Count | Percentage | Pledged | Unpledged | Total | |
| Bernie Sanders | 2,226 | 64.17% | 17 | 1 | 18 |
| Hillary Clinton | 1,231 | 35.49% | 8 | 4 | 12 |
| Uncommitted | 12 | 0.35% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 3,469 | 100% | 25 | 5 | 30 |
| Source:[3] | |||||
Sanders swept all of Maine's counties and also won a large share of the democratic caucus votes inNew England.
Ted Cruz,Marco Rubio,Donald Trump, andJohn Kasich were all on the ballot for the 2016 Maine state Republican caucuses. The caucuses were held on March 5, 2016, in the following counties in Maine:Cumberland,Franklin,Piscataquis,Somerset,Aroostook,Androscoggin,Sagadahoc,Kennebec,Lincoln,Knox,Hancock,Waldo,Washington,York,Oxford, andPenobscot.
Ted Cruz won the caucus with 45.9% of the vote and was awarded 12 delegates, with Donald Trump in second, receiving 32.59% of the votes and 9 delegates.[4]
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Actual delegate count | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bound | Unbound | Total | |||
| Ted Cruz | 8,550 | 45.90% | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Donald Trump | 6,070 | 32.59% | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| John Kasich | 2,270 | 12.19% | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Marco Rubio | 1,492 | 8.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Carson (withdrawn) | 132 | 0.71% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rand Paul (withdrawn) | 55 | 0.3% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeb Bush (withdrawn) | 31 | 0.17% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carly Fiorina (withdrawn) | 17 | 0.09% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Huckabee (withdrawn) | 10 | 0.05% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unprojected delegates: | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total: | 18,627 | 100% | 23 | 0 | 23 |
| Source:The Green Papers | |||||
Delegates were awarded to candidates who got 10% or more of the vote proportionally.
Maine held a series of caucuses throughout the state between February 27 and March 19. TheMaine Green Independent Party didn't compile the results until the state convention on May 7, during which it then assigned delegates based on the results.[5][6]
On March 13, 2016, it was announced that Jill Stein had won the Maine Green Independent Party caucuses.[7]
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | National delegates |
|---|---|---|---|
 Jill Stein | – | – | – |
| William Kreml | – | – | – |
| Kent Mesplay | – | – | – |
| Sedinam Moyowasifza-Curry | – | – | – |
| Darryl Cherney | – | – | – |
| Uncommitted | – | – | – |
| Total | - | - | - |
TheLibertarian Party nominated its ticket, formerNew Mexico GovernorGary Johnson for president and formerMassachusetts GovernorWilliam Weld for vice president, at itsnational convention inOrlando, Florida, on May 29, 2016.[8]
Until July 13, 2016, the Libertarian Party was not a legally recognized party in Maine. A 2013 change in the ballot access law permitted a party to gain recognition if they enroll 5,000 Maine voters in the party. TheLibertarian Party of Maine turned approximately 6,500 signatures in to theMaine Secretary of State's office in 2015, but Secretary of StateMatthew Dunlap invalidated 2,000 of them, bringing the total below the threshold required. The party then sued Dunlap, claiming Maine's ballot access requirements were unconstitutionally unreasonable. While losing an initial ruling by U.S. District Court Judge John Woodcock,[9] Woodcock later ordered that they be given until July 12 to collect the necessary signatures.[10] On July 13, Dunlap certified that 5,150 signatures had been validated, surpassing the threshold required to allow their candidates on the ballot. Maintenance of the status required obtaining 10,000 presidential votes in the general election.[11]
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Times[12] | Safe D | November 6, 2016 |
| CNN[13] | Safe D | November 4, 2016 |
| Cook Political Report[14] | Safe D | November 7, 2016 |
| Electoral-vote.com[15] | Likely D | November 8, 2016 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[16] | Likely D | November 7, 2016 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[17] | Likely D | November 7, 2016 |
| RealClearPolitics[18] | Tossup | November 8, 2016 |
| Fox News[19] | Lean D | November 7, 2016 |
| NBC[20] | Lean D | November 7, 2016 |
| Source | Ranking (1st) | Ranking (2nd) | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNN[21] | Safe D | Lean D | November 4, 2016 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[22] | Safe D | Lean R(flip) | November 7, 2016 |
| RealClearPolitics[23] | Lean D | Tossup | November 8, 2016 |
| NBC[24] | Safe D | Tossup | November 7, 2016 |
Maine distributes 2 EVs based on the statewide vote and 1 EV for each congressional district's vote. Statewide, Hillary Clinton won every pre-election poll but one with margins ranging from 3 to 11 points. The average of the last two polls showed Hillary Clinton ahead of Donald Trump 46.5% to 41% statewide.[25]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Hillary Clinton (D) | Donald Trump (R) | Others | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine People's Resource Center[26] | November 2–3, 2016 | 450 | 4.7% | 45% | 39% | 11% | 5% |
| Maine People's Resource Center[27] | October 24–26, 2016 | 429 | 4.7% | 45% | 33% | 13% | 9% |
| Maine People's Resource Center[28] | October 14–15, 2016 | 469 | 4.5% | 46% | 36% | 12% | 7% |
| Maine People's Resource Center[29] | October 7–9, 2016 | 468 | 4.5% | 49% | 32% | 11% | 8% |
| University of New Hampshire[30] | September 15–20, 2016 | 50% | 28% | 14% | — | ||
| Maine People's Resource Center[31] | September 15–17, 2016 | 440 | 4.7% | 41% | 30% | 17% | 12% |
| University of New Hampshire[32] | June 15–21, 2016 | 48% | 33% | 16% | 3% |
Hillary Clinton won every poll in the 1st Congressional District. The average of the last three polls had her leading 49% to 36%.[33]
Donald Trump won most of the polls conducted in Maine's 2nd district. He was ahead anywhere from 3 to 11 points, although Hillary Clinton won the last poll 44% to 42%. An average of the last two polls showed Trump leading Hillary Clinton 41.5% to 41%.[34]
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Hillary Clinton (D) | Donald Trump (R) | Others | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine People's Resource Center[26] | November 2–3, 2016 | 405 | 4.9% | 41% | 43% | 10% | 6% |
| Maine People's Resource Center[27] | October 24–26, 2016 | 382 | 5% | 38% | 41% | 11% | 9% |
| Maine People's Resource Center[28] | October 14–15, 2016 | 420 | 4.8% | 38% | 37% | 14% | 11% |
| Maine People's Resource Center[29] | October 7–9, 2016 | 424 | 4.8% | 39% | 40% | 13% | 8% |
| University of New Hampshire[30] | September 15–20, 2016 | 34% | 48% | 16% | — | ||
| Maine People's Resource Center[31] | September 15–17, 2016 | 396 | 4.9% | 33% | 44% | 14% | 9% |
| University of New Hampshire[32] | June 15–21, 2016 | 36% | 37% | 23% | 4% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton | 357,735 | 47.83% | |
| Republican | Donald Trump | 335,593 | 44.87% | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson | 38,105 | 5.09% | |
| Green | Jill Stein | 14,251 | 1.91% | |
| Independent | Evan McMullin (write-in) | 1,887 | 0.25% | |
| Constitution | Darrell L. Castle (write-in) | 333 | 0.04% | |
| Independent | Laurence Kotlikoff (write-in) | 16 | 0.00% | |
| Independent | Cherunda Lynn Fox (write-in) | 7 | 0.00% | |
| Invalid or blank votes | 23,965 | 3.10%[36] | ||
| Majority | 22,142 | 2.96% | ||
| Total votes | 771,892 | 100.00% | ||
| Turnout | 72.53 | |||
| Democraticwin | ||||
 | Parts of this article (those related to County results) need to beupdated. The reason given is:County results needs to be fixed, totals aren't accurate when summed. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2025) |
| County | Hillary Clinton Democratic | Donald Trump Republican | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total votes cast | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Androscoggin | 23,009 | 41.38% | 28,227 | 50.77% | 4,365 | 7.85% | -5,218 | -9.39% | 55,601 |
| Aroostook | 13,386 | 38.14% | 19,419 | 55.33% | 2,292 | 6.53% | -6,033 | -17.19% | 35,097 |
| Cumberland | 102,981 | 59.94% | 57,709 | 33.59% | 11,128 | 6.47% | 45,272 | 26.35% | 171,818 |
| Franklin | 7,016 | 42.55% | 7,918 | 48.02% | 1,554 | 9.43% | -902 | -5.47% | 16,488 |
| Hancock | 16,117 | 50.16% | 13,705 | 42.65% | 2,308 | 7.19% | 2,412 | 7.51% | 32,130 |
| Kennebec | 29,302 | 44.26% | 31,675 | 47.84% | 5,231 | 7.90% | -2,373 | -3.58% | 66,208 |
| Knox | 12,443 | 53.76% | 9,148 | 39.52% | 1,556 | 6.72% | 3,295 | 14.24% | 23,147 |
| Lincoln | 10,241 | 47.63% | 9,727 | 45.24% | 1,535 | 7.13% | 514 | 2.39% | 21,503 |
| Oxford | 12,172 | 39.01% | 16,210 | 51.95% | 2,819 | 9.04% | -4,038 | -12.94% | 31,201 |
| Penobscot | 32,838 | 40.77% | 41,622 | 51.68% | 6,080 | 7.55% | -8,784 | -10.91% | 80,540 |
| Piscataquis | 3,098 | 33.74% | 5,406 | 58.88% | 678 | 7.38% | -2,308 | -25.14% | 9,182 |
| Sagadahoc | 10,664 | 49.33% | 9,304 | 43.04% | 1,648 | 7.63% | 1,360 | 6.29% | 21,616 |
| Somerset | 9,092 | 34.88% | 15,001 | 57.55% | 1,971 | 7.57% | -5,909 | -22.67% | 26,064 |
| Waldo | 10,440 | 45.98% | 10,378 | 45.70% | 1,889 | 8.32% | 62 | 0.28% | 22,707 |
| Washington | 6,075 | 37.12% | 9,093 | 55.56% | 1,197 | 7.32% | -3,018 | -18.44% | 16,365 |
| York | 55,844 | 48.87% | 50,403 | 44.11% | 8,027 | 7.02% | 5,441 | 4.76% | 114,274 |
| Total | 357,735 | 47.83% | 335,593 | 44.87% | 54,599 | 7.30% | 22,142 | 2.96% | 747,927 |
Swing by county
Trend relative to the state by county
County flipsDemocratic Hold | Republican Hold Gain from Democratic
|
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
[37]
Clinton won the southern 1st district, while Trump carried the more rural 2nd district.[38]
| District | Clinton | Trump | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 54% | 39% | Chellie Pingree |
| 2nd | 41% | 51% | Bruce Poliquin |
Overall, Maine as a whole shifted right by 12.33%, with its 1st and 2nd districts shifting right by 6.58% and 18.85%, respectively; the 2nd district's rightward shift was the strongest such shift seen in any electoral vote in 2016.
This was because Maine’s 1st congressional district contains the most highly educated counties in the state, while Maine’s 2nd congressional district does not. Although Trump gained in both districts, he made his largest gains among white voters without college degrees.[39]
 Elections and referendums in Maine | |||||
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| Presidential elections | |||||
| Senate elections |
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| House elections | |||||
| Gubernatorial elections |
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| Legislative elections |
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| Referendums | |||||
State and district results of the2016 United States presidential election | ||
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