New polling continues to show a virtual dead heat in the race for the 2nd Congressional District, where a freshman state lawmaker is looking to unseat a three-term congressman.
State Rep. Austin Theriault (R-Fort Kent) and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (D-2nd District) both garnered 38% support in a poll released Wednesday by Digital Research Inc., a Portland polling firm. That leaves 21% undecided and 3% declining to tell pollsters how they plan to vote.
The results come with less than two weeks until the Nov. 5 Election Day and as early voting is already underway.
Maine’s 2nd Congressional District is a major target for Republicans looking to grow their majority. House Speaker Mike Johnson visited the district in August to give Theriault a boost.
The Critical Insights on Maine poll was conducted Sept. 10 to Oct. 7 and included 604 participants. Roughly half responded online and half were surveyed by phone. Overall, the poll has a margin of error of 4 percentage points, although that margin is higher in each congressional district because the sample size is smaller.
In other top-tier races polled, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-1st District) is polling at 56%, followed by Republican Ronald Russell (16%) and independent Ethan Alcorn (4%).
In the race for president, the poll showed Vice President Kamala Harris with 48% support statewide and former President Donald Trump with 41%. The poll indicates Harris is likely to win three of the state’s four electoral votes, with Trump favored to win one electoral vote from the 2nd Congressional District.
The pollsters did not release results from the U.S. Senate race, where incumbent Sen. Angus King, an independent, is being challenged by Republican Demi Kouzounas, Democrat David Costello and independent Jason Cherry.
The poll also asked general questions about the Maine economy, with 37% saying they think Maine is on the right track and 37% saying they think the state is on the wrong track.
The “right track” number is 15 percentage points higher than what pollsters found in the spring survey — “a level of optimism not seen in more than three years,” according to the pollsters.
When it comes to the nation as a whole, 52% of Mainers say it is on the wrong track, with just 22% choosing “right track.”
Respondents to the poll said the most important issues facing Maine are a lack of affordable housing (17%), the economy (14%), cost of living (10%) and the environment (9%).