The 2nd district covers , comprising nearly 80% of the state's total land area. It is the
largest district east of the
Mississippi River and the 24th-largest overall. It is the second-most rural district in the United States, with 72.11% of its population in rural areas, behind only
Kentucky's 5th congressional district. It includes most of the land area north of the
Portland and
Augusta metropolitan areas, including the cities of
Bangor,
Lewiston,
Auburn and
Presque Isle. The incumbent Democrat
Mike Michaud, who had represented the district since 2003, did not seek re-election, and was selected as the Democratic nominee for
governor of Maine in the
2014 election. He was re-elected with 58% of the vote in 2012, and the district had a
PVI of D+2.
Democratic primary Candidates Nominee •
Emily Cain,
state senator Eliminated in primary •
Troy Jackson, majority leader of the
Maine Senate Declined •
Joe Baldacci,
Bangor city councilor •
John Baldacci, former governor and former U.S. representative •
Matthew Dunlap,
Secretary of State of Maine • James Howaniec, attorney, former mayor of
Lewiston and candidate for this seat in
1994 •
Jeff McCabe, assistant majority leader of the
Maine House of Representatives Endorsements Polling Results Republican primary Candidates Nominee •
Bruce Poliquin, former
state treasurer of Maine and candidate for the U.S. Senate
in 2012 •
Richard Rosen, director of the Maine Office of Policy and Management and former state senator •
Alexander Willette, assistant minority leader of the
Maine House of Representatives Declined •
Kenneth Fredette, minority leader of the
Maine House of Representatives •
Garrett Mason, state senator
Endorsements Polling Results Independents Candidates Declared • Blaine Richardson,
United States Navy veteran, and Republican candidate for the seat
in 2012 (unenrolled as a Republican, running as an independent) A debate to be held on
WMTW-TV was cancelled after Cain pulled out to protest Richardson not being invited. WMTW said they and their parent company,
Hearst Television, had strict criteria for invitations to debates that Richardson did not meet. These criteria included holding large campaign events, fundraising, and performance in polling, all of which WMTW said were not met. On August 29, Richardson revealed, and Poliquin's campaign confirmed, that Richardson had rejected a request from Poliquin to quit the race. A Poliquin spokesman stated the phone call was made because Richardson had "no chance" to win and seemed "more interested in working with Emily Cain to bash Bruce rather than have a discussion about the future". Richardson said he would stay in the race and he was "so fed up with the parties, both of them". He also said that Poliquin asking him to quit had been one of the biggest boosts for his campaign.
Debates • Complete video of debate, October 16, 2014
Endorsements Polling Predictions Results ==See also==