Democrat Hannah Pingree and Republican Bobby Charles win Maine governor primaries

Democrat Hannah Pingree and Republican Bobby Charles won their party primaries for Maine governor on Friday after the June 9 contests advanced to ranked-choice voting.

Governor's race Pingree, the former speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, and Charles, the former U.S. assistant secretary of state, will compete in November to succeed Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who is term-limited. Five Democratic candidates and seven Republicans campaigned in the June 9 primary.

No candidate in either party received more than 50 percent of the vote, triggering the ranked-choice runoff that concluded Friday. The Democratic primary was especially close, with the top four candidates separated by only a few percentage points. The Republican field included healthcare executive Jonathan Bush, former Maine Senate Majority Leader Garrett Mason, former Paris selectman Robert Wessels, and businessmen Owen McCarthy, David Jones and Ben Midgley.

Congressional race In the 2nd Congressional District, Democrat Matt Dunlap won his party's nomination in a separate ranked-choice contest. Dunlap will face former Gov. Paul LePage, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary. The seat is open because Democratic Rep.

Jared Golden, who has held it since 2018, is stepping down. The district covers much of Maine's rural territory, logging country and fishing ports and has supported President Donald Trump in three consecutive presidential elections.

Ranked-choice voting Maine has used ranked-choice voting since voters approved it a decade ago. Voters rank candidates in order of preference; if no candidate reaches a majority, the lowest vote-getter is eliminated and second choices are redistributed until one candidate secures more than half the votes.

Democratic voters also selected oyster farmer Graham Platner to challenge longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the U.S. Senate race. Platner won that primary by a wide margin without needing a runoff.