2018 Maine gubernatorial election

Incumbent Republican Paul LePage was term-limited, having been elected twice consecutively in 2010 and 2014. LePage did not win a majority of the vote either time (receiving 37.6% in a crowded four-way race in 2010 and 48.2% in a three-way race in 2014), with Democrats accusing independent candidate Eliot Cutler of splitting the anti-LePage vote in both instances, though Cutler finished closer to LePage than Democratic candidate Libby Mitchell in the 2010 election. Maine's history of governors elected without majorities, including LePage, was one impetus for the citizen's referendum to implement ranked choice voting. Indeed, the last time a gubernatorial candidate received a majority of the vote was in 1998, when incumbent governor (and current United States Senator) Angus King, an independent, won reelection with 58.6% of the vote. The last time a non-incumbent candidate received more than 50% of the vote was the 1966 gubernatorial election, which Democrat Kenneth M. Curtis won over incumbent Republican John H. Reed with 53.1% of the vote. Though ranked-choice voting was approved by voters in a 2016 referendum, the Maine Legislature voted to delay and potentially repeal RCV for all elections after an advisory opinion by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled it unconstitutional for general elections for state offices. RCV supporters succeeded in a people's veto effort to prevent the delay, which suspends it until a June 2018 referendum vote. RCV supporters were victorious in the June referendum, and ranked-choice voting will remain in place for state and federal primaries and federal general elections. ==Republican primary==

Speculation that U.S. Senator Susan Collins was considering running for governor arose during the 2015 Maine Legislative session when Representative Matt Moonen (D-Portland) introduced a bill to strip the governor (LePage at the time) of the power to appoint replacement U.S. Senators in the event of a vacancy and to instead have a special primary and general election. Moonen denied that he was motivated by Collins's possible candidacy, saying he was interested only in counterbalancing Republican-sponsored bills to change how the Maine Attorney General and Maine Secretary of State are chosen. Moonen said Collins had told him speculation about her running for governor was "silly." Collins, who was the 1994 Republican nominee for Governor, told MPBN News on January 4, 2016, that though she was "baffled" by the rumors about her being interested in running for governor, many had encouraged her to run, and she would not rule it out. In October 2017, Collins said she would not run for governor in 2018. No Republican candidate ruled out challenging the results of a ranked-choice primary in court. Mary Mayhew called for the immediate repeal of RCV, calling it a "scam" and "probably illegal". The Maine Republican Party filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Bangor on May 4, 2018, seeking to bar the use of RCV for its own primary on the grounds that requiring the party to use it violates its First Amendment rights to choose its nominee as it sees fit. U.S. District Court Judge Jon Levy rejected the suit on May 29. Candidates Nominated • Shawn Moody, businessman and independent candidate for governor in 2010 Eliminated in primary • Ken Fredette, state house minority leader • Garrett Mason, state senate majority leader • Mary Mayhew, former commissioner of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services Withdrawn • Deril Stubenrod, write-in candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2014 • Mike Thibodeau, Maine Senate president Declined • Rick Bennett, former chairman of the Maine Republican Party, former President of the Maine Senate, candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2012 and nominee for ME-02 in 1994 • Susan Collins, U.S. senator and nominee for governor in 1994 • Nick Isgro, Mayor of Waterville • Bruce Poliquin, U.S. representative (ran for reelection) • Peter Vigue, businessman Endorsements Polling Debate Results ==Democratic primary==

in Lewiston Almost all Democratic candidates said that they would abide by the results of the ranked-choice primary, with only Janet Mills refusing to comment on the issue because it was being heard by the courts. Eliminated in primary • Adam Cote, attorney, Iraq War veteran and candidate for ME-01 in 2008 • Donna Dion, former mayor of Biddeford • Mark Dion, state senator and former Cumberland County Sheriff • Mark Eves, former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives • Diane Russell, former state representative • Betsy Sweet, former director of the Maine Women's Lobby Failed to make ballot • Dominic A. Crocitto • Steve DeAngelis, schoolteacher • J. Martin Vachon Withdrawn • James Boyle, former state senator • Patrick Eisenhart, retired United States Coast Guard Commander • Sean Faircloth, former mayor of Bangor and former state senator • Kenneth Forrest Pinet Declined • Justin Alfond, former state senator and former President of the Maine Senate • Yellow Light Breen, CEO of the Maine Development Foundation • Chellie Pingree, U.S. Representative • Hannah Pingree, former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Endorsements All endorsers are Democrats unless otherwise specified. Polling Results ==Green Independent primary==

Candidates Withdrawn • Jay Parker Dresser, candidate for ME-02 in 2016 • Betsy Marsano, activist ==Libertarian primary==

Candidates Withdrawn • Gilbert P. Doughty • Richard Light ==Independents==

Candidates Declared • Kenneth A. Capron, perennial candidate, systems analyst and fraud investigator(write-in candidate) • Terry Hayes, Maine State Treasurer(write-in candidate) Capron and Jenkins failed to qualify for the ballot, but continued their campaigns as write-in candidates. Withdrawn • Ethan Alcorn, businessman (did not qualify) • Alan Caron, president and CEO of Envision Maine (endorsed Mills) • Aaron D. Chadbourne, writer and activist (write-in candidate, endorsed Moody) Failed to make ballot • Karmo Sanders, actress Declined • Eliot Cutler, attorney and candidate for governor in 2010 and 2014 • Angus King, U.S. Senator and former governor (running for re-election) • Peter Vigue, businessman • Richard G. Woodbury, former state senator == General election ==

After the primaries, most prediction models had the race as a tossup, noting Paul LePage's two victories and Hillary Clinton's narrow margin of victory in the state in the 2016 presidential election. Others considered it to be a pick-up opportunity for the Democrats. Both Moody and Mills received the backing of outside money, with one PAC spending in excess of $1 million on television advertising in the state to support Mills's candidacy. On October 12, Jonathan Martin of The New York Times published an article detailing a sex discrimination complaint filed against Moody and his business in 2006, which Moody settled for $20,000, resulting in the complaint being withdrawn. The complaint alleged that Moody went to the residence of a female employee and fired her for having a child just days after delivering the child via an emergency caesarean section. Moody denied the allegation through a spokesperson and later on Twitter. Though the first poll of the race saw Mills and Moody tied for first place with Hayes and Caron lagging behind, by the end of October, four different polls were released, each showing Mills with an eight-point lead over Moody. FiveThirtyEight declared the race "Likely D" when its gubernatorial projections were released in October, though other prediction models maintained the race as a tossup. On October 29, in a press conference at the main branch of the Portland Public Library, Caron dropped out of the race and endorsed Mills. His name remained on the ballot, but any votes cast for him were regarded as blank. Shortly before 10 pm on election night, Hayes conceded the race. At 12:15 am on November 7, Moody conceded the race to Mills, and shortly thereafter Mills declared victory at Democratic headquarters in Portland. ==See also==