Polling places across Maine saw steady turnout during Tuesday’s election, which was highlighted by competitive races in the Democratic and Republican primaries for governor and a symbolic test for Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Graham Platner.

Voters also cast their ballots for the Democratic nomination for the 2nd District congressional seat, dozens of primary contests in both parties for the Maine Legislature, and myriad local races and school budget referendums across the state.

“We’ve seen the highest turnout in places around the state where there are local contested races,” said Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who is on the ballot in the Democratic primary for governor.

The final results in many races were expected to trickle in late Tuesday night through early Wednesday morning. Votes in the Democratic and Republican primaries for governor, however, could take up to two weeks to count due to the ranked-choice voting system employed in those elections.

Those races are tightly contested. Last-minute polling released a week and a half before the election showed Democrats Troy Jackson and Nirav Shah neck-and-neck for their party’s nomination, while Republican Bobby Charles sought to push back on a late surge by healthcare executive Jonathan Bush.

In the Senate primary, Platner was running in a largely noncompetitive race. He had competed fiercely with Gov. Janet Mills, who stunned election watchers across the country when she suspended her campaign in April. But Mills’ name remained on the ballot, along with long-shot candidates David Costello and write-in Andrea LaFlamme. The winner of that race will compete against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the general election.

Democrats were also voting on who they want to challenge former Republican Gov. Paul LePage in the 2nd Congressional District race to succeed U.S. Rep. Jared Golden: State Sen. Joe Baldacci, Maine State Auditor Matt Dunlap, social worker Paige Loud or former congressional aide Jordan Wood.

Each of the races for governor, U.S. Senate and U.S. House are ranked-choice elections in which voters are allowed to rank the candidates in order of preference, rather than simply picking one. If no candidate gets more than 50% after a first count, the last-place finisher is eliminated, that candidate’s second-choice votes are reallocated to the remaining candidates, and the results are retabulated until a winner emerges.

Maine consistently ranks among the top states for voter turnout. During the last midterm general election in 2022, 61.8% of Mainers cast ballots, the highest rate in the country. Primary elections typically see lower rates but across polling places Tuesday, officials reported brisk traffic.

Of the more than 92,000 absentee ballots that were requested and issued to voters prior to Election Day, nearly 71,000 (About 76%) were returned and accepted, according to recent data provided by Jana Spaulding, a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office.

U.S. SENATE

While it may not be the most contentious race Mainers are voting on, the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate has emerged as a national bellwether for both parties.

Democrats have identified Collins’ seat as one of the country’s most vulnerable, and flipping it from red to blue will be crucial if the party is to regain control of Congress. But whether Platner is the right candidate for that task remains a complicated question for voters to answer.

His campaign launched with much fanfare and enthusiasm from progressives across the country, though that excitement was dampened when an onslaught of opposition research put Platner’s campaign in a constant defensive posture.

Old Reddit comments surfaced in which Platner made disparaging remarks. Other controversies included a tattoo Platner had on his chest resembling the Totenkopf, a symbol associated with Nazi paramilitary units, and an ex-girlfriend who alleged Platner physically intimidated her during their relationship.

Platner has said the Reddit posts were “stupid joke comments” made as he struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and denied knowing the symbolism of his tattoo, which he has since covered up. He apologized for his behavior in past relationships but called the accusations “politically motivated.”

Some voters seemed willing to look past Platner’s controversies. Nicole Mann, a 28-year-old from Waterville, said she tore the Platner sign out of her front lawn after learning about his Nazi-linked tattoo. But after Platner said he was unaware of the tattoo’s meaning and covered it up, Mann, who is Jewish, said she felt more endeared to him as a candidate.

“I like to see people changing,” she said.

Others haven’t been able to shake their reluctance. Mary Shea, 65, of Falmouth, said she cast a protest vote against Platner. Though Mills dropped out of the race months ago, Shea made a point to rank her first on her ballot.

“She’s not the right person for the moment, but I don’t feel good about Platner,” she said, adding that she would vote for Platner in November if he wins the nomination. “Collins has to go.”

Though Platner is widely expected to win the primary, political experts are closely watching what percentage of the vote he pulls in. An unexpectedly sizable turnout for Mills, Costello or LaFlamme would signal intraparty fractures that may be difficult for Platner to overcome before November.

“He’s a real unknown quantity,” said Portland voter Daniel Coffrin. “I’m enthusiastic but it’s one of those things where you’re like, ‘C’mon man.’”

GOVERNOR’S RACE

In the primaries for Maine governor, five Democrats and seven Republicans are squaring off for the chance to represent their respective parties in the race to succeed Mills, who is terming out of office this year.

On the Democratic side are Shah, Jackson and Bellows, along with Hannah Pingree and Angus King III. Shah emerged as an early favorite in multiple polls, drawing upon his experience as the former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Many Democrats, like Portland voter Anita Fournier, see him as a tested leader.

“He makes perfect sense,” said Fournier, who ranked Shah first on her ballot. “He did what he needed to do to support us, and I think he can do that again.”

Three Democrats from the party’s more progressive wing (Jackson, Bellows and Pingree) formed an alliance to counter Shah’s reach. Each candidate asked voters to rank them alongside one another while leaving Shah and King off the ballot.

On the Republican side, Bush and Charles were joined by David Jones, Garrett Mason, Owen McCarthy, Ben Midgley and Robert Wessels. The crowded primary created a similar dynamic as in the Democratic race after Charles surfaced as the front-runner. Several partnerships formed between candidates who sought to curb Charles’ momentum.

Bush, the cousin of former President George W. Bush who allied himself with Wessels, surged in the polls late in the race as he pitched himself as “a new kind of Bush.” He and Charles jabbed at each other in TV ads through the final stretch of the primary. Some voters, like Frances Wataru in Lewiston, said those ads swayed their vote for Bush.

“I like the way he spoke,” she said.

SCHOOL BUDGETS

At the local level, debates around school budgets have emerged as some of the most consistently fierce across Maine.

Residents in school districts across the state will decide whether to approve updated budget proposals. Some represent substantial increases in their district’s bottom line and residents’ taxes. Others include staffing cuts and school closures.

School budgets in most of Maine have risen between 5% to 10% over the last fiscal year, largely due to increased personnel costs and rising inflation. The trend has led an increasing number of voters to reject their communities’ budget proposals.

In Brunswick, voters appeared split on the proposed school budget. Democratic voters Kerry and Lenore Kells voted against the $61.2 million proposal, citing property taxes that have climbed upward in recent years.

“The town has overspent on the police department, the fire station,” Kerry Kells said. “Our taxes are $8,000.”

Others see the issue of rising school budgets as more nuanced. Gerry Raymond, in Lewiston, conceded that the proposed budget is “too high.” But it’s worth footing the bill to support the district’s students, he said.

“We need our schools,” Raymond said.

LOCAL RACES

While the top-of-the-ticket races for Congress and governor soaked up the spotlight, more than 40 local select board, town council, school board and other local races were on track to be decided on Tuesday.

Some races will only decide which candidates will appear on the November ballot. The winners in others will be appointed to their local boards after ballots are counted.

For many voters, there’s a wide information gap between what they know about statewide races and what they know about local elections. Some, like 58-year-old Christine Liebert in Skowhegan, said they didn’t research local candidates until they were set to step into the voting booth.

“I don’t know why I didn’t do that before I voted,” Liebert said.

Others were confused by Maine’s semi-open primaries. Voters not registered with a specific party are allowed to cast a ballot in one of the two parties’ primaries. Those enrolled with a third party, like the Green or Libertarian Party, cannot vote at all.

In Gardiner, City Clerk Kathleen Cutler said one Green Party voter became irate when informed he couldn’t cast his ballot in the Democratic primary. “AI told me I could vote,” he shouted at her.

“There was a lot of confusion, it’s unfortunate,” Cutler said. “It feels like both parties feel this is a critical election.”

Rachel Ohm, Emily Duggan, Kendra Caruso, Sophie Burchell, Katie Langley, Jake Freudberg, Keith Edwards, and Abigail Pritchard contributed reporting.