Toss-up Maine House race moves to ranked-choice tabulation with Golden, Theriault separated by 1,414 votes

A toss-up Maine House race between incumbent Democrat Rep. Jared Golden and his Republican challenger Austin Theriault is heading to a ranked-choice tabulation after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, officials say. 

The tightly contested race in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District is one of several that will decide whether Democrats keep control of the House of Representatives or lose it to Republicans, with President-elect Donald Trump gearing up to return to the White House in January. Trump won the district in the presidential race.

As of Friday morning, the balance of power in the House is still undecided, with Republicans at 211 seats to Democrats at 199 seats. A total of 218 seats are needed for the majority.

With nearly 98% of the vote in as of Friday morning, Golden is leading Theriault by just 1,414 votes, according to The Associated Press.  

The Democrat already declared victory Wednesday over Theriault, who is a Maine state representative and former NASCAR driver, saying at the time that he was up by around 3,000 votes with “very few outstanding ballots.” 

REPUBLICANS WITHIN STRIKING DISTANCE OF HOUSE MAJORITY AS KEY RACES REMAIN TOO CLOSE TO CALL 

Maine Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, left, and Republican challenger Austin Theriault, a former NASCAR driver and current state representative. (Graeme Sloan/Matt Sullivan/Bloomberg via Getty Images )

“Any viable path to a win for my opponent has closed, so I’m here to declare victory,” Golden told reporters. “Anyone who has observed this race knows that this was my toughest election yet. Across the country, no Democrat has withstood stronger headwinds from the top of the ticket, the pundits or the organized opposition.” 

The Maine secretary of state announced late last night that the contest is now heading to a ranked-choice tabulation that will begin in the state’s capital of Augusta next week, WMTW reported. 

Both Golden and Theriault were running for the House seat alongside write-in candidate Diane Merenda. 

Because nobody reached a majority, second-choice votes from Merenda supporters and ballots that were submitted without a first-choice mark will be redistributed among the candidates’ totals, according to WMTW. It also reported that Theriault plans to request a recount that would start after the ranked-choice tabulation. 

HOUSE LEADERS MOVE QUICKLY TO CONSOLIDATE POWER IN SHOW OF CONFIDENCE FOR REPUBLICAN MAJORITY 

Fox News Power Rankings House table. (Fox News)

“The rules are clear: A ranked-choice run-off is required only if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of first-choice votes. When the clerks reported returns on Tuesday, Congressman Golden was the candidate who received more than 50 percent of first-choice votes,” Golden’s campaign told the station. “Voters have a right to see elections decided both accurately and expediently. State Rep. Theriault has asserted his right to a recount by hand and Congressman Golden agrees to it. So let’s just do it, rather than incur the delays and expenses of a ranked-choice run-off.” 

Theriault wrote on X that “This is the closest federal or statewide race in modern Maine political history, so let’s work together to ensure an accurate count and that the final result reflects the will of the people.” 

“We were significantly outspent, but the closeness of our race against a three-term incumbent is a testament to your hard work and commitment to improving our country,” he added. 

Austin Theriault, driver of the #51 Jacob Companies Chevrolet, looks on during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway on Sept. 20, 2019 in Richmond, Virginia. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

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The Maine secretary of state’s office did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.