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Presidential election in Maine, 2016

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General election in Maine
  Date: November 8, 2016
2016 winner: Hillary Clinton (D)
Electoral votes: Four
2012 winner: Barack Obama (D)
Democratic Caucuses
  Date: March 6, 2016
Winner: Bernie Sanders
Republican Caucuses
  Date: March 5, 2016
Winner: Ted Cruz
Down ballot races in Maine
  U.S. House
Maine State Senate
Maine judicial elections
Maine local judicial elections
Ballot measures
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Maine held an election for the president of the United States on November 8, 2016. Republicans held a caucus in Maine on March 5, 2016. Democrats held a caucus in Maine on March 6, 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • In the general election, Hillary Clinton (D) won the statewide vote and the first congressional district. Donald Trump (R) won the second congressional district.
  • In 2016, Maine had four electoral votes, which was 0.7 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs and 1.5 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the general election. Maine is one of two states that awards its electoral votes proportionally. The other is Nebraska. Maine adopted this system in 1972. Maine's second congressional district was a key battleground in the 2016 presidential election.
  • Between 1900 and 2016, Maine cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 60 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Maine supported Republican candidates more often than Democratic candidates, 66.67 to 33.33 percent. Maine, however, awarded all of its electoral votes to Democratic candidates in every presidential election between 2000 and 2012, but in 2016 it awarded one to the Republican candidate.
  • Bernie Sanders won the Maine Democratic caucuses on March 6, 2016, with 64.3 percent of the vote. Ted Cruz won the Maine Republican caucuses on March 5, 2016, with 45.9 percent.

    • General election candidates

    See also: Ballot access for presidential candidates

    The candidate list below is based on an official list on the Maine secretary of state website. The candidate names below appear in the order in which they were listed on the official list—not necessarily the order in which they appeared on the ballot in November. Write-in candidates were not included in the list below.

    Presidential candidates on the ballot in Maine

    ☑ Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine (Democratic)
    ☐ Gary Johnson/Bill Weld (Libertarian)
    ☐ Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka (Green)
    ☐ Donald Trump/Mike Pence (Republican)

    Results

    U.S. presidential election, Maine, 2016
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngHillary Clinton/Tim Kaine 47.8% 357,735 3
         Republican Donald Trump/Mike Pence 44.9% 335,593 1
         Libertarian Gary Johnson/Bill Weld 5.1% 38,105 0
         Green Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka 1.9% 14,251 0
         - Other/Write-in 0.3% 2,243 0
    Total Votes 747,927 4
    Election results via: Federal Election Commission

    Pivot Counties

    See also: Pivot Counties: The counties that voted Obama-Obama-Trump from 2008-2016

    Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012, in 34 states.[1] Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes, and had an average margin of victory of 11.45 percent. The political shift in these counties could have a broad impact on elections at every level of government for the next four years.

    Historical election trends

    See also: Presidential election accuracy

    Below is an analysis of Maine's voting record in presidential elections. The state's accuracy is based on the number of times a state has voted for a winning presidential candidate. The majority of statistical data is from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and was compiled, here, by Ballotpedia, unless otherwise noted.

    Presidential election voting record in Maine, 1900-2016

    Between 1900 and 2016:

    • Maine participated in 30 presidential elections.
    • Maine voted for the winning presidential candidate 60[2] percent of the time. The average accuracy of voting for winning presidential candidates for all 50 states in this time frame was 72.31 percent.[3]
    • Maine voted Democratic 33.33 percent of the time and Republican 66.67 percent of the time.

    Split electoral votes

    In the 2016 election, Maine split its electoral votes; of four electoral votes, two "electoral votes go to the statewide winner and one electoral vote goes to the winner in each of the two congressional districts." Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate, received three votes, while the Republican candidate, Donald Trump, won only one vote.[4]

    Presidential election voting record in Maine, 2000-2016

    *An asterisk indicates that that candidate also won the national electoral vote in that election.

    Election results

    2012

    U.S. presidential election, Maine, 2012
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBarack Obama/Joe Biden Incumbent 55.4% 401,306 4
         Republican Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan 40.3% 292,276 0
         Libertarian Gary Johnson/Jim Gray 1.3% 9,352 0
         Green Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala 1.1% 8,119 0
         Write-in Write-in candidates 0.3% 2,127 0
         N/A Blank 1.6% 11,578 0
    Total Votes 724,758 4
    Election results via: Maine Secretary of State

    2008

    U.S. presidential election, Maine, 2008
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes Electoral votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngBarack Obama/Joe Biden 57.7% 421,923 4
         Republican John McCain/Sarah Palin 40.4% 295,273 0
         Independent Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez 1.5% 10,636 0
         Green Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente 0.4% 2,900 0
         Other Other candidates 0.1% 431 0
    Total Votes 731,163 4
    Election results via: Maine Secretary of State

    Electoral votes

    See also: Electoral College

    The president of the United States is not elected by popular vote but rather by electors in the Electoral College. In fact, when Americans vote for president, they are actually voting for a slate of electors selected by members of Democratic and Republican state parties or nominated in some other fashion. Under this system, which is laid out in Article 2, Section 1, of the Constitution, each state is allocated one electoral vote for every member of their congressional delegation, meaning one for each member of the U.S. House and one for each of their two Senators.

    Maine electors

    In 2016, Maine had four electoral votes. Maine's share of electoral votes represented 0.7 percent of the 538 electoral votes up for grabs in the general election and 1.5 percent of the 270 votes needed to be elected president. Maine awards its electoral votes by congressional district and the popular vote. It has two electoral votes for the statewide vote and one for each of its two congressional districts. It first implemented this system in 1972. The only other state that allocates electoral votes proportionally is Nebraska.

    "Faithless electors"

    The U.S. Constitution does not dictate how presidential electors are to cast their votes, but, in general, electors are expected to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state or the candidates of the party that nominated them to serve as electors. Electors who choose not to vote for the winner of the popular vote or the candidates of the party that nominated them are known as "faithless electors." Faithless electors are rare. Between 1900 and 2012, there were only eight known instances of faithless electors.

    Several states have passed laws against faithless electors and require electors to vote for the winner of the popular vote in their state, for the candidate of the party that nominated them to serve as electors, or in accordance with any pledge they may have been required to make at the time of their nomination. In states with these types of laws, faithless electors can be fined or replaced, or their votes can be nullified.[6][7]

    Maine was one of 31 states in 2016—including the District of Columbia—with a law seeking to bind the votes of presidential electors.

    Down ballot races

    See also: Maine elections, 2016

    Below is a list of down ballot races in Maine covered by Ballotpedia in 2016.

    Caucuses

    Quick facts

    Democrats
    • 2016 Democratic winner: Bernie Sanders
    • 2008 Democratic winner: Barack Obama
    • Type: Caucus
    • Delegate allocation: Proportional
    • Pledged delegates at stake: 25
    • Total delegates at stake: 30
    		 Republicans
    • 2016 Republican winner: Ted Cruz
    • 2012 Republican winner: Mitt Romney
    • Type: Caucus
    • Delegate allocation: Proportional
    • Pledged delegates at stake: 23
    • Total delegates at stake: 23

    Democrats

    Bernie Sanders won the 2016 Maine Democratic caucuses over Hillary Clinton with more than 60 percent of the vote.[8] Sanders’ victory in Maine marked his third win of the weekend of March 5-6, 2016. On March 5, he also won caucuses in Kansas and Nebraska. In Maine, Sanders won all of the state’s major urban areas, including the cities of Portland, South Portland Lewiston and Bangor, and most of Maine's coastline. Sanders carried Portland, Maine’s biggest city with a population of roughly 66,000, by more than 30 points.[9] Barack Obama won the Maine Democratic caucus in 2008. He beat Clinton 59 to 40 percent.

    Republicans

    Ted Cruz won the 2016 Maine Republican caucuses. With record turnout of more than 18,600 caucus-goers, Cruz carried 45.9 percent of the vote and gained 12 delegates. Donald Trump, who received an endorsement from Maine governor Paul LePage (R) in late February, came in second with 32.6 percent and nine delegates. The only other candidate to win delegates, John Kasich, placed third with 12.2 percent of the vote and two delegates.[10]

    2016 caucus results

    Democrats

    Maine Democratic Caucus, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngBernie Sanders 64.3% 2,231 17
    Hillary Clinton 35.9% 1,232 8
    Other 0.2% 7 0
    Totals 3,470 25
    Source: CNN and The New York Times

    Vote totals represent state delegates won.

    Republicans

    Maine Republican Caucus, 2016
    Candidate Vote % Votes Delegates
    Green check mark transparent.pngTed Cruz 45.9% 8,550 12
    Donald Trump 32.6% 6,070 9
    John Kasich 12.2% 2,270 2
    Marco Rubio 8% 1,492 0
    Ben Carson 0.7% 132 0
    Rand Paul 0.3% 55 0
    Other 0.3% 58 0
    Totals 18,627 23
    Source: The New York Times


    Delegate selection

    See also: 2016 presidential nominations: calendar and delegate rules

    Democratic Party

    Democratic Party Logo.png

    Maine had 30 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 25 were pledged delegates. National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide caucus results.[11][12]

    Five party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates. These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus.[11][13]

    Maine superdelegates

    See also: Superdelegates from Maine, 2016 and Superdelegates and the 2016 Democratic National Convention

    Republican Party

    Logo-GOP.png

    Maine was expected to have 23 delegates at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Of this total, six were district-level delegates (three for each of the state's two congressional districts). District-level delegates were allocated on a proportional basis; a candidate had to win at least 10% of the statewide caucus vote in order to be eligible to receive any of the state's district delegates.[14][15]

    Of the remaining 17 delegates, 14 served at large. At-large delegates were allocated proportionally; a candidate had to win at least 10% of the statewide caucus vote in order to be eligible to receive any of the state's at-large delegates. In addition, three national party leaders (identified on the chart below as RNC delegates) served as bound delegates to the Republican National Convention.[14][15]

    Republican delegates

    See also: Republican delegates from Maine, 2016 and RNC delegate guidelines from Maine, 2016

    Presidential voting history

    Maine presidential election results (1900-2024)

    • 12 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 2024
    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 D

    State profile

    Demographic data for Maine
     MaineU.S.
    Total population:1,329,453316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):30,8433,531,905
    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.[16]

    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

    See also

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 While Maine split its electoral vote in 2016, this number is based on Maine not having supported the winning Republican candidate, who only received one electoral vote.
    3. ↑ This average includes states like Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, which did not participate in all 30 presidential elections between 1900 and 2016. It does not include Washington, D.C., which cast votes for president for the first time in 1964, or Alaska and Hawaii, which cast votes for president for the first time in 1960.
    4. ↑ CNN, "Maine Results, 2016 Election," accessed November 10, 2016
    5. ↑ This number refers to the number of times that the state voted for the winning presidential candidate between 2000 and 2016.
    6. ↑ Archives.gov, "About the Electors," accessed July 28, 2016
    7. ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The Electoral College: How it works in contemporary presidential elections," April 13, 2016
    8. ↑ Politico, "Sanders wins Maine," March 6, 2016
    9. ↑ CNN, "Maine," March 6, 2016
    10. ↑ The New York Times, "Maine Caucus Results," March 5, 2016
    11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Democratic National Committee, "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
    12. ↑ The Green Papers, "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
    13. ↑ Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection, "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016
    14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Republican National Committee, "2016 Presidential Nominating Process," accessed October 6, 2015
    15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 CNN.com, "Republican National Convention roll call vote," accessed July 20, 2016
    16. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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