Voters fill out ballots on Tuesday at Kents Hill School’s Alfond Athletic Center in Readfield. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

The national Republican shift that gave the party control of the presidency and U.S. Senate and flipped several states from blue to red also showed up in Maine’s election results.

But while Republicans made gains in the state, too, Maine Democrats came through the election with their political dominance mostly intact.

Vice President Kamala Harris defeated President-elect Donald Trump in Maine by a margin of 7 percentage points, 52% to 45%, according to preliminary results from the Associated Press. The final spread could shift slightly because 2% of votes had not been compiled by AP as of Friday afternoon.

Even as Maine remained blue on the national Electoral College map, Trump slightly outperformed his campaign from four years ago, when Joe Biden defeated him by 9 percentage points, 53% to 44%.

Republicans also made gains in the battle for control of Maine’s Legislature but were not able to flip either chamber. Democrats appear to have retained narrow majorities in both the state Senate and House of Representatives.

One possible exception could be in the race for the 2nd Congressional District, which heads to a ranked choice runoff and a hand recount this week. Incumbent U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat, is leading in the race, but his Republican challenger Austin Theriault is far from conceding.

Republicans say this year’s election results point to growing momentum for their party in Maine.

“I think we are more likely to see those Republican gains in the next election cycle as a reinforcement that most people agree with Republicans in America right now,” said Lance Dutson, a Republican strategist. “As that kind of sinks in, I think we will see Maine Republicans take advantage of that.”

Democrats, on the other hand, point to the fact that they held their ground in a challenging national election cycle.

“I think the Democratic coalition in Maine bucked the national trend. … That speaks to the leadership of Democrats in the state and the leadership of Gov. (Janet) Mills,” said David Farmer, a Democratic political consultant.

THE TRUMP EFFECT 

“When someone at the top of the ticket does well, it generally helps everybody,” Dutson said. “But I think the impact is really more of a cultural and ideological impact than an impact from one particular candidate. I think Trump did well nationally, not necessarily because of him, but because there’s a feeling that Democrats have just gone overboard and are too far to the left.”

Trump improved upon his national performance from 2020 in both red and blue states to win a resounding victory over Harris. Some swing states that Biden won that year – and that Harris had also hoped to win – instead flipped to Trump.

The impact was less pronounced in Maine, where the state as a whole hasn’t voted for a Republican for president since 1988 and Democrats have controlled the State House and governor’s office for the last six years.

Dutson said Maine has always been slow to follow national political trends.

“D.C.-based politics don’t do real well here, where we have smaller towns and smaller legislative districts,” he said. “It’s more about the personalities.”

But that could change with Republicans doing so well nationally this year, he said. In addition to winning the presidency, Republicans also gained control of the Senate and are favored to win control of the House when the undecided races are settled.

“I think Republicans everywhere are realizing that more of (their) friends and neighbors agree with our beliefs than don’t, and when that sinks in more broadly in Maine, I think we will see bigger electoral successes,” Dutson said.

DEMOCRATS APPEAR TO HOLD MAJORITY IN STATE HOUSE, SENATE

Democrats announced on Wednesday that they won a majority in the 151-seat Maine House, saying they won 77 seats, Republicans won 72 and two others went to independents. Republicans, however, were expected to request recounts in a handful of close races.

As of Friday afternoon, the Associated Press had declared Democrats won 66 seats, Republicans had 70 seats and independents had one. Republicans, according to Democrats, are expected to pick up four seats.

In the Senate, Republicans picked up two seats, though Democrats still hold a clear majority. As of Friday, there was still one seat the Associated Press hadn’t called.

Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham, R-Winter Harbor, who was reelected by Republicans on Friday to serve as the House minority leader, said in a written statement that “the desire for positive change was evident in this year’s election. … We came within 100 votes of taking control of the Maine House on election night.”

“We are determined to lower energy costs and address a $1 billion budget deficit brought on by years of overspending,” Faulkingham said. “The needs of everyday Mainers are being ignored. If Democrats don’t give us a seat at the table, we will continue to speak loudly for the people of Maine.”

DEMOCRATS SAY MAJORITIES POINT TO SUCCESS

Maine Democratic Party Chair Bev Uhlenhake said in a written statement that while the party is disappointed by the results of the presidential election, and that Republicans will make some small gains in the Legislature, Democrats felt positive about Harris winning three electoral votes in the state and the reelection of many Democratic representatives.

“In a challenging national environment brought on by global post-pandemic inflation, Maine Dems ran and won on a strong record of delivering to invest in Maine communities, infrastructure, and businesses, rural and urban, and bringing down costs for working Mainers from healthcare to childcare, and beyond,” Uhlenhake said in the statement.

The lack of any dramatic change in Maine’s political landscape highlights Democrats’ successes in leading the state through the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges, as well as the strong ground game Democrats put together, Farmer said.

While neither Trump nor Harris or their running mates visited Maine this year, Harris sent numerous surrogates to the state, and her campaign boasted about a robust infrastructure that included more than two dozen field offices and 45 staffers around the state.

“They put forth a significant effort to talk to voters,” Farmer said. “That was a lot of work, and I think it helped stem some of the tide we saw in other parts of the country.”

Farmer said the president’s party typically loses ground in midterm elections, so he doesn’t expect Republicans to be build on their gains in 2026.

“What is far more likely is, with the draconian policies of the president-elect and the disastrous policies he has supported, when they’re implemented, you will see a significant backlash to that and Republicans will lose ground,” Farmer said.

GOLDEN LOOKS TO HANG ON TO 2ND DISTRICT

The impending runoff and recount in the 2nd District race will determine if Democrats are able to fend off any outright Republican victories.

According to the secretary of state’s office, Golden led Theriault 48.65% to 48.11% after the initial vote count, while a declared write-in, Diana Merenda, received 0.1% of votes and about 3% of ballots were considered blank because they did not indicate a first-choice candidate.

Because no candidate received 50% of all the ballots, the race will proceed to a ranked choice runoff, and the more than 1,200 write-in and blank ballots will be scanned for any second choices so they can be redistributed to Golden and Theriault. Ballots that are completely blank will be removed from the total.

National political observers say Golden’s ability to hold on to a lead is remarkable at a time when Trump and Republicans made significant gains nationwide.

“Golden has been a pretty impressive performer,” said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. He said the race was one of the most competitive House races in the country, though Golden is not alone among a handful of Democrats to win in districts where Trump also did.

“A lot of them are places that have become much more Republican at the presidential level since Trump came on the scene,” Kondik said. “A lot of them are working-class districts where Trump’s share of working-class voters has increased a lot. But there’s still some ability for local Democrats with good reputations back home to hang on.”