The 2024 Maine Democratic presidential primary took place on March 5, 2024, as part of the Democratic Party primaries for the 2024 presidential election. 32 delegates to the Democratic National Convention were allocated to presidential candidates.[1] The contest was held on Super Tuesday alongside primaries in 14 other states and territories. This was a semi-closed primary where party members may only vote in their respective party's primary, but unenrolled voters may choose a party's primary to participate in. This change in law from Maine's previous closed primary went into effect on May 14, 2022, without Gov. Janet Mills' signature.[2]
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32 delegates (24 pledged and 8 unpledged) to the Democratic National Convention | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Biden won in a landslide, with some opposition from Philips, who won almost 7% of the vote.
Candidates
editThe filing deadline was December 1.[3] Two candidates met the requirements to appear on the ballot:[4][5]
Write-in campaign
editThe Maine Coalition for Palestine launched an effort to convince voters to write-in "Ceasefire" in the primary, drawing inspiration from a similar campaign in New Hampshire and the success of the campaign for uncommitted votes in Michigan.[6] However, as Maine state law only requires that votes for declared write-in candidates be tallied, these votes will be counted as blank ballots.[7]
Endorsements
editIndividuals
- Donald Sussman, hedge fund executive[8]
Results
edit| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Actual delegate count | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pledged | Unpledged | Total | |||
| Joe Biden (incumbent) | 60,018 | 82.8% | 24 | ||
| Dean Phillips | 4,623 | 6.4% | |||
| Other candidates | 480 | 0.7% | |||
| Blank ballots | 7,359 | 10.2% | |||
| Total: | 72,480 | 100% | 24 | 8 | 32 |
Results by county
editBiden won every county by a comfortable margin. He performed best in Lincoln County, reaching slightly less than 90% of the vote. Conversely, he recorded his worst result in Aroostook County, where both Phillips and blank ballots reached their best performance. Phillips secured the second place in Franklin, Kennebec and Oxford counties, while falling to the third in the other thirteen.[10]
| County | Biden | Phillips | Blank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Androscoggin | 77.77% | 10.18% | 11.38% |
| Aroostook | 73.42% | 10.72% | 15.17% |
| Cumberland | 81.71% | 5.23% | 12.91% |
| Franklin | 84.5% | 8.3% | 6.98% |
| Hancock | 84.91% | 4.32% | 9.66% |
| Kennebec | 84.65% | 7.44% | 6.66% |
| Knox | 85.71% | 3.96% | 9.58% |
| Lincoln | 88.59% | 4.25% | 7.16% |
| Oxford | 83.01% | 8.31% | 7.1% |
| Penobscot | 81.12% | 7.77% | 8.73% |
| Piscataquis | 81.5% | 9.06% | 9.45% |
| Sagadahoc | 85.46% | 4.78% | 7.92% |
| Somerset | 80.04% | 9.08% | 9.22% |
| Waldo | 82.54% | 5.19% | 11% |
| Washington | 81.93% | 6.69% | 10.08% |
| York | 84.37% | 7.26% | 8.36% |
Results by congressional district
editBiden won both districts by more than 80% of the vote. Both he and blank votes performed better in the smaller, more urban first district,[11][12] while Phillips recorded a better result in the larger, more rural second district, which was also the only one in New England to back Donald Trump in 2020.[13]
| District | Biden | Phillips | Blank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 83.37% | 5.77% | 10.56% |
| 2nd | 81.83% | 7.42% | 9.46% |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Maine Democratic Delegation 2024". The Green Papers. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
- ^ Meyers, David. "Maine joins list of states with open primaries". The Fulcrum. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ "Presidential Primary Petition 2024" (PDF). Maine Secretary of State. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
- ^ "List of Presidential Primary candidates as of Dec. 1 filing deadline". www.maine.gov. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ Andrews, Ethan (December 1, 2023). "Maine releases 2024 presidential primary candidates list". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
- ^ "'Uncommitted' voters challenged Biden in Michigan. There is no such option in Maine. • Maine Morning Star".
- ^ "Peace activists urge protest votes in Maine's Democratic primary". Press Herald. March 1, 2024.
- ^ "Big money donors rally behind Biden as he launches his reelection bid". CNBC. April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- ^ "Tabulations for Elections held in 2024: March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election". Maine Secretary of State. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ "Tabulations for Elections held in 2024". Department of the Secretary of State, State of Maine. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ "Maine - Congressional District 1" (PDF). census.gov. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ^ "Maine - Congressional District 2" (PDF). census.gov. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ^ Nir, David (November 15, 2022). "Daily Kos Elections' 2020 presidential results by congressional district". Daily Kos. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
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