A Democratic Party primary took place on June 14, 2022, in Maine to determine which candidate would earn the right to run as the party's nominee in the state's gubernatorial election on November 8, 2022.

Incumbent Janet T. Mills advanced from the Democratic primary for Governor of Maine.

This page focuses on Maine's Democratic Party gubernatorial primary. For more in-depth information on Maine's Republican gubernatorial primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Democratic Primary for Governor of Maine

The following candidates advanced in the ranked-choice voting election: Janet T. Mills in round 1 .

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 69,422
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

John Glowa (D)

Election competitiveness

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[1]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Race ratings: Maine gubernatorial election, 2022
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 8, 2022	November 1, 2022	October 25, 2022	October 18, 2022
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates in Maine in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Maine, click here.

Filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates, 2022
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source	Notes
Maine	Governor	Ballot-qualified party	2,000	N/A	3/15/2022	Source
Maine	Governor	Unaffiliated	4,000	N/A	6/1/2022	Source

State profile

Demographic data for Maine
	Maine	U.S.
Total population:	1,329,453	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	30,843	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	95%	73.6%
Black/African American:	1.1%	12.6%
Asian:	1.1%	5.1%
Native American:	0.6%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	1.5%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	91.6%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	29%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$49,331	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	16.6%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Maine. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Maine

Maine voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, eight are located in Maine, accounting for 3.88 percent of the total pivot counties.^[5]

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Maine had seven Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 4.42 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More Maine coverage on Ballotpedia

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

	2026 → ← 2018
Governor of Maine
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election;
Election details
	Filing deadline: March 15, 2022
	Primary: June 14, 2022; General: November 8, 2022; Pre-election incumbent(s):; Janet T. Mills (Democratic)
How to vote
	Poll times: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Voting in Maine
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Lean Democratic; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Democratic; Inside Elections: Lean Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
	Federal and state primary competitiveness; State executive elections in 2022; Impact of term limits in 2022; State government trifectas; State government triplexes; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
Maine; executive elections
	Governor

See also: Presidential voting trends in Maine and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Maine, 2022
District	Incumbent	Party	PVI
Maine's 1st	Chellie Pingree	Democratic	D+9
Maine's 2nd	Jared Golden	Democratic	R+6

2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, Maine^[6]
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Maine's 1st	60.0%	37.2%
Maine's 2nd	45.5%	51.6%

2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:

County-level voting pattern categories
Democratic
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Democratic	D	D	D
Trending Democratic	R	D	D
Battleground Democratic	D	R	D
New Democratic	R	R	D
Republican
Status	2012	2016	2020
Solid Republican	R	R	R
Trending Republican	D	R	R
Battleground Republican	R	D	R
New Republican	D	D	R

Following the 2020 presidential election, 53.0% of Mainers lived in one of the state's seven Solid Democratic counties, which voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 36.6% lived in one of seven Trending Republican counties. Overall, Maine was Solid Democratic, having voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2012, Hillary Clinton (D) in 2016, and Joe Biden (D) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Maine following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Maine county-level statistics, 2020
Solid Democratic	7	53.0%
Trending Republican	7	36.6%
Battleground Democratic	1	9.1%
Solid Republican	1	1.2%
Total voted Democratic	8	62.1%
Total voted Republican	8	37.9%

Historical voting trends

Maine presidential election results (1900-2020)

11 Democratic wins
20 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	R	R	R	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Maine

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Maine.

U.S. Senate election results in Maine
Race	Winner	Runner up
2020	51.0%	42.4%
2018	54.3% (Independent)	35.2%
2014	68.5%	31,5%
2012	52.9% (Independent)	30.7%
2008	61.3%	38.6%
Average	57.6	36.7

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Maine

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Maine.

Gubernatorial election results in Maine
Race	Winner	Runner up
2018	50.9%	43.2%
2014	48.2%	43.4%
2010	37.6%	35.9% (Independent)
2006	38.1%	30.2%
2002	47.1%	41.5%
Average	44.4	38.8

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Maine's congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Maine, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	2	2
Republican	1	0	1
Independent	1	0	1
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	2	4

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Maine's top three state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in Maine, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Janet T. Mills
Secretary of State	Shenna Bellows
Attorney General	Aaron Frey

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the Maine State Legislature as of November 2022.

Maine State Senate

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	22
	Republican Party	13
	Vacancies	0
Total		35

Maine House of Representatives

Party		As of November 2022
	Democratic Party	77
	Republican Party	63
	Independent	2
	Independent for Maine Party	1
	Libertarian Party	0
	Vacancies	8
Total		151

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Maine was a Democratic trifecta, with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Maine Party Control: 1992-2022
Twelve years of Democratic trifectas • Two years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Governor	R	R	R	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	I	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D
Senate	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	S	S	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Maine and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for Maine
	Maine	United States
Population	1,362,359	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	30,844	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	93.7%	70.4%
Black/African American	1.4%	12.6%
Asian	1.1%	5.6%
Native American	0.7%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0%	0.2%
Other (single race)	0.4%	5.1%
Multiple	2.8%	5.2%
Hispanic/Latino	1.7%	18.2%
Education
High school graduation rate	93.2%	88.5%
College graduation rate	32.5%	32.9%
Income
Median household income	$59,489	$64,994
Persons below poverty level	11.1%	12.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

External links

Suggest a link

Footnotes

↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022

[1] Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.

[2] Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018

[3] Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018

[4] Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018

[5] The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.

[6] Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022

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		Candidate	%	Total Votes	Transfer	Round eliminated
✔		Janet T. Mills	100	69,422	0	Advanced (1)

Maine	State Executive Elections	News and Analysis

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Maine gubernatorial election, 2022 (June 14 Democratic primary)

Candidates and election results

Democratic primary election