Maine's 2nd congressional district
Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative	Jared Golden D–Lewiston
Distribution	72.11% rural 27.89% urban
Population (2024)	697,280
Median household income	$67,291
Ethnicity	90.9%White 4.0%Two or more races 1.7%Hispanic 1.5%Black 0.8%Asian 0.8%Native American 0.3% other
Cook PVI	R+4[1]

Maine's 2nd congressional district is acongressional district in theU.S. state ofMaine. Covering 27,326 square miles (70,770 km²), it comprises nearly 92% of the state's total land area. The district comprises most of the land area north of thePortland andAugusta metropolitan areas. It includes the cities ofLewiston,Bangor,Auburn, andPresque Isle. The district is represented byDemocratJared Golden, who took office in 2019.

It is thelargest district by area east of theMississippi River, and the 24th largest overall. It is the second-most rural district in the United States, with 72% of its population in rural areas, and it has the second highest proportion ofnon-Hispanic White residents (90.9%); onlyKentucky's 5th congressional district exceeds it in the two categories.^[2] With a Cook PVI of R+4, it is the mostRepublican-leaning district with a Democratic representative in the United States. It voted for RepublicanDonald Trump in2016,2020, and2024 and notably voted for Democratic Representative Jared Golden in both the2020 and2024 elections. It was one of six congressional districts in 2020 and 13 districts in 2024 that voted forDonald Trump for president while simultaneously electing a Democrat to the House of Representatives.^[3]

Until theMissouri Compromise was reached in 1820, Maine was a part ofMassachusetts as theDistrict of Maine. When it became a state in 1820, Maine had seven congressional districts credited to it (Massachusetts including Maine had been given 20 districts after the1810 census). Since Maine became a state, all but two districts have beenreallocated to other states.

In 2018, the district became the first in the United States to elect theranked choice winner over thefirst-past-the-post winner, after a referendum in 2016 changed Maine's electoral system from the latter system to the former. Incumbent representativeBruce Poliquin won a plurality of the first preference votes. However, the second and third preferences from two independent candidates flowed overwhelmingly toJared Golden, allowing him to win with 50.6% of the vote once all preferences were distributed.

Historically, the district has tended to keep its incumbents regardless of party. When Golden defeated two-termRepublican incumbent Bruce Poliquin in 2018, it was the first time an incumbent had lost reelection in the district since 1916.^[4] Since 1965, the district's representatives have frequently sought statewide office. Three U.S. senators (DemocratWilliam Hathaway and RepublicansWilliam Cohen andOlympia Snowe), one governor (DemocratJohn Baldacci), and one nominee for governor (DemocratMike Michaud) all previously held the seat. Due to its size, the district's congressman is usually reckoned as a statewide figure; its footprint includes portions of all three television markets anchored in the state.

The boundaries of the district are open for reconsideration in light of population shifts revealed by the decennial US census. Until 2011, Maine's constitution provided for the state to reapportion the congressional districts based on census data every ten years beginning in 1983, meaning that Maine redrew their districts after most states, who typically redraw them in time for the congressional election taking place immediately after the release of census data. However, a federal lawsuit filed in March 2011 led to a requirement that Maine speed up its redistricting process. As such, Maine's congressional map was redrawn in time for both the2012 and2022 congressional elections.^[5]

For the118th and successive Congresses (based on redistricting following the2020 census), the district contains all or portions of the following counties and municipalities:^[6]

AndroscogginCounty(14)

All 14 municipalities

AroostookCounty(64)

All 64 municipalities

FranklinCounty(21)

All 21 municipalities

HancockCounty(37)

All 37 municipalities

KennebecCounty(18)

Augusta,Belgrade,Chelsea,Farmingdale,Fayette,Gardiner,Hallowell,Manchester,Monmouth,Mount Vernon,Oakland,Randolph,Readfield,Rome,Sidney,Vienna,Wayne,Winthrop

OxfordCounty(36)

All 36 municipalities

PenobscotCounty(59)

All 59 municipalities

PiscataquisCounty(18)

All 18 municipalities

SomersetCounty(33)

All 33 municipalities

WaldoCounty(26)

All 26 municipalities

WashingtonCounty(44)

All 44 municipalities

InUS presidential elections, moststates give all the state'selectoral votes to the candidate that wins the statewide popular vote. This is a type ofwinner-takes-all voting. Maine and Nebraska instead use thecongressional district method, where the winner in each of the state's congressional districts gets one electoral vote, and the statewide winner gets an additional two electoral votes. Since Maine introduced this system in 1969, Maine's second district voted the same way as the entire state of Maine for every election until 2016. RepublicanDonald Trump won the district in 2016, 2020, and 2024.

Member	Party	Years ↑	Cong ress	Electoral history	District location
District created March 4, 1821
Ezekiel Whitman (Portland)	Federalist	March 4, 1821 – June 1, 1822	17th	Redistricted from theMassachusetts's 15th district andre-elected in 1820. Resigned.	1821–1823 Cumberland County:Brunswick,Cape Elizabeth,Danville,Durham,Falmouth,Freeport,Gorham,Gray,Harpswell,New Gloucester,North Yarmouth,Portland,Pownal,Scarborough,Westbrook,Windham
Vacant		June 1, 1822 – December 2, 1822
Mark Harris (Portland)	Democratic-Republican	December 2, 1822 – March 3, 1823		Elected to finish Whitman's term. Retired.
Stephen Longfellow (Portland)	Adams-Clay Federalist	March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1825	18th	Elected in 1823. Lost re-election.	1823–1833 Cumberland County:Brunswick,Cape Elizabeth,Cumberland,Danville,Durham,Falmouth,Freeport,Gorham,Gray,Harpswell,New Gloucester,North Yarmouth,Poland,Portland,Pownal,Raymond,Scarborough,Standish,Westbrook,Windham
John Anderson (Portland)	Jacksonian	March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1833	19th 20th 21st 22nd	Elected in 1824. Re-elected in 1826. Re-elected in 1828. Re-elected in 1830. Retired to run for Mayor ofPortland.
Francis Smith (Portland)	Jacksonian	March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837	23rd 24th 25th	Elected in 1833. Re-elected in 1834. Re-elected in 1836. Lost re-election.	1833–1843 [data missing]
	Democratic	March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839
Albert Smith (Portland)	Democratic	March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1841	26th	Elected in 1838. Lost re-election.
William Pitt Fessenden (Portland)	Whig	March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843	27th	Elected in 1840. Retired.
Robert P. Dunlap (Brunswick)	Democratic	March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1847	28th 29th	Elected in 1843. Re-elected in 1844. Retired.	1843–1853 [data missing]
Asa Clapp (Portland)	Democratic	March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849	30th	Elected in 1846. Retired.
Nathaniel Littlefield (Bridgeton)	Democratic	March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1851	31st	Elected in 1848. Retired.
John Appleton (Portland)	Democratic	March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1853	32nd	Elected in 1850. Retired.
Samuel Mayall (Gray)	Democratic	March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855	33rd	Elected in 1852. Retired.	1853–1863 [data missing]
John J. Perry (Oxford)	Opposition	March 4, 1855 – March 3, 1857	34th	Elected in 1854. Retired.
Charles J. Gilman (Brunswick)	Republican	March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859	35th	Elected in 1856. Retired.
John J. Perry (Oxford)	Republican	March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1861	36th	Elected in 1858. Retired.
Charles W. Walton (Auburn)	Republican	March 4, 1861 – May 26, 1862	37th	Elected in 1860. Resigned on appointment as associate justice ofMaine Supreme Judicial Court.
Vacant		May 26, 1862 – December 1, 1862
Thomas Fessenden (Auburn)	Republican	December 1, 1862 – March 3, 1863		Elected to finish Walton's term. Retired.
Sidney Perham (Paris)	Republican	March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1869	38th 39th 40th	Elected in 1862. Re-elected in 1864. Re-elected in 1866. Retired.	1863–1873 [data missing]
Samuel P. Morrill (Farmington)	Republican	March 4, 1869 – March 3, 1871	41st	Elected in 1868. Lost renomination.
William P. Frye (Lewiston)	Republican	March 4, 1871 – March 17, 1881	42nd 43rd 44th 45th 46th 47th	Elected in 1870. Re-elected in 1872. Re-elected in 1874. Re-elected in 1876. Re-elected in 1878. Re-elected in 1880. Resigned whenelected U.S. senator.
1873–1883 [data missing]
	Vacant		March 17, 1881 – September 12, 1881	47th
	Nelson Dingley Jr. (Lewiston)	Republican	September 12, 1881 – March 3, 1883		Elected to finish Frye's term. Redistricted to theAt-large district.
District inactive		March 3, 1883 – March 3, 1885	48th	At-large districts used
Nelson Dingley Jr. (Lewiston)	Republican	March 3, 1885 – January 13, 1899	49th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd 54th 55th	Redistricted from theAt-large district andre-elected in 1884. Re-elected in 1886. Re-elected in 1888. Re-elected in 1890. Re-elected in 1892. Re-elected in 1894. Re-elected in 1896. Re-elected in 1898 but died before next term.	1885–1893 [data missing]
1893–1903 [data missing]
	Vacant		January 13, 1899 – June 19, 1899	55th 56th
	Charles E. Littlefield (Rockland)	Republican	June 19, 1899 – September 30, 1908	56th 57th 58th 59th 60th	Elected to finish Dingley's term. Re-elected in 1900. Re-elected in 1902. Re-elected in 1904. Re-elected in 1906. Resigned.
1903–1913 [data missing]
	Vacant		September 30, 1908 – November 3, 1908	60th
	John P. Swasey (Canton)	Republican	November 3, 1908 – March 3, 1911	60th 61st	Elected to finish Littlefield's term. Also elected to the next full term. Lost re-election.
	Daniel J. McGillicuddy (Lewiston)	Democratic	March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1917	62nd 63rd 64th	Elected in 1910. Re-elected in 1912. Re-elected in 1914. Lost re-election.
1913–1923 [data missing]
	Wallace H. White Jr. (Lewiston)	Republican	March 4, 1917 – March 3, 1931	65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st	Elected in 1916. Re-elected in 1918. Re-elected in 1920. Re-elected in 1922. Re-elected in 1924. Re-elected in 1926. Re-elected in 1928. Retired torun for U.S. Senator.
1923–1933 [data missing]
	Donald B. Partridge (Norway)	Republican	March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933	72nd	Elected in 1930. Retired.
Edward C. Moran Jr. (Rockland)	Democratic	March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1937	73rd 74th	Elected in 1932. Re-elected in 1934. Retired.	1933–1943 [data missing]
Clyde H. Smith (Skowhegan)	Republican	January 3, 1937 – April 8, 1940	75th 76th	Elected in 1936. Re-elected in 1938. Died.
Vacant		April 8, 1940 – June 3, 1940	76th
Margaret Chase Smith (Skowhegan)	Republican	June 3, 1940 – January 3, 1949	76th 77th 78th 79th 80th	Elected to finishher husband's term. Re-elected in 1940. Re-elected in 1942. Re-elected in 1944. Re-elected in 1946. Retired torun for U.S. Senator.
1943–1953 [data missing]
	Charles P. Nelson (Waterville)	Republican	January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1957	81st 82nd 83rd 84th	Elected in 1948. Re-elected in 1950. Re-elected in 1952. Re-elected in 1954. Retired.
1953–1963 [data missing]
	Frank M. Coffin (Lewiston)	Democratic	January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1961	85th 86th	Elected in 1956. Re-elected in 1958. Retired torun for governor.
	Stanley R. Tupper (Boothbay Harbor)	Republican	January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1963	87th	Elected in 1960. Redistricted to the1st district.
Clifford G. McIntire (Perham)	Republican	January 3, 1963 – January 3, 1965	88th	Redistricted from the3rd district andre-elected in 1962. Retired torun for U.S. Senator.	1963–1973 [data missing]
William Hathaway (Auburn)	Democratic	January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1973	89th 90th 91st 92nd	Elected in 1964. Re-elected in 1966. Re-elected in 1968. Re-elected in 1970. Retired torun for U.S. Senator.
William Cohen (Bangor)	Republican	January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1979	93rd 94th 95th	Elected in 1972. Re-elected in 1974. Re-elected in 1976. Retired torun for U.S. Senator.	1973–1983 [data missing]
Olympia Snowe (Auburn)	Republican	January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1995	96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd	Elected in 1978. Re-elected in 1980. Re-elected in 1982. Re-elected in 1984. Re-elected in 1986. Re-elected in 1988. Re-elected in 1990. Re-elected in 1992. Retired torun for U.S. Senator.
1983–1993 [data missing]
1993–2003 [data missing]
	John Baldacci (Bangor)	Democratic	January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003	104th 105th 106th 107th	Elected in 1994. Re-elected in 1996. Re-elected in 1998. Re-elected in 2000. Retired torun for governor.
Mike Michaud (East Millinocket)	Democratic	January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2015	108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th	Elected in 2002. Re-elected in 2004. Re-elected in 2006. Re-elected in 2008. Re-elected in 2010. Re-elected in 2012. Retired torun for governor.	2003–2013 Androscoggin County;Aroostook County;Franklin County;Hancock County;Oxford County;Penobscot County;Piscataquis County;Somerset County;Waldo County;Washington County; and part ofKennebec County:Benton,Clinton,Fayette,Litchfield,Oakland,Waterville,Wayne, andWinslow
					2013–2023
Bruce Poliquin (Oakland)	Republican	January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2019	114th 115th	Elected in 2014. Re-elected in 2016. Lost re-election.
Jared Golden (Lewiston)	Democratic	January 3, 2019 – present	116th 117th 118th 119th	Elected in 2018. Re-elected in 2020. Re-elected in 2022. Re-elected in 2024. Retiring at the end of term.
					since 2023

• Maine's congressional districts
• List of United States congressional districts

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989).The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982).The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
• Former Congressman Bruce Poliquin's web site

• Congressional districts of Maine
• North Maine Woods
• Androscoggin County, Maine
• Aroostook County, Maine
• Franklin County, Maine
• Hancock County, Maine
• Kennebec County, Maine
• Oxford County, Maine
• Penobscot County, Maine
• Piscataquis County, Maine
• Somerset County, Maine
• Waldo County, Maine
• Washington County, Maine
• Constituencies established in 1821
• Constituencies disestablished in 1883
• Constituencies established in 1885
• 1821 establishments in Maine
• 1883 disestablishments in Maine
• 1885 establishments in Maine

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