Paul LePage Wins in Maine's 2nd Congressional District

Paul LePage, the former governor of Maine, has won the state's 2nd Congressional District seat, flipping it from blue to red.

Decision Desk HQ projects Paul LePage wins the ME US House 2 General Election#DecisionMade: 1:52 PM EST

Follow live results here: https://t.co/skKUsmgg3n pic.twitter.com/697XX2sa9I

— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 12, 2026

LePage beat Matt Dunlap, the Maine State Auditor, who aligned himself with failed Senate candidate Graham Platner. Platner was forced to drop out of the race after allegations of domestic abuse and sexual assault came to light.

Decision Desk HQ projects Paul LePage wins Maine’s 2nd district Election

🔵 D -> 🔴 R Flip pic.twitter.com/bZs6rBeWDK

— OSZ (@OpenSourceZone) November 12, 2026

Dunlap also wanted to make so-called "gender affirming care" a Constitutional right. He lumped "gender-affirming care" in with abortion and other "reproductive care."

"We may have to enshrine it in the Constitution at the end of the day," Dunlap said in an online forum. "I mean, it's under constant assault. We have the Dobbs decision, which has given states free rein to restrict access to these types of very necessary healthcare services. And, you know, there are just too many lessons, too many circumstances that I think these are decisions that ultimately can only be made by the people involved. By a woman, her family, her physicians, what the best course of action is. Otherwise, we are prescribing disaster ... and that includes gender-affirming care."

Dunlap also doubled down on increasing Maine's gas tax, saying his vote to index the state's gas tax to inflation was "absolutely ... the right vote." It led to an eight-cent increase in gas prices in 2011. Dunlap also voted to increase the costs of recreational activities in Maine, including tripling the cost of fishing licenses, raising ATV registration fees, and raising other hunting and fishing fees by 50 percent. He also voted against two bills that would have made it harder for the state legislature to raise taxes and against freezing property taxes for Maine's low-income seniors.

Paul LePage, on the other hand, saved hospitals across Maine. In 2002, when Angus King was governor, Maine began paying hospitals less than what they were owed for MaineCare patients. LePage took office in 2011, and by 2013, the state owed hospitals more than $484 million, leading to potential layoffs. LePage signed legislation to pay off that debt and did so without raising taxes on Mainers.

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