Democratic Rep. Jared Golden wins through Maine’s ranked choice voting

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Democratic Rep. Jared Golden won reelection to Congress through Maine’s ranked choice system on Friday.

It’s the third time in four elections in the hotly contested district that Golden won after votes were retabulated because first choices failed to produce a majority for any candidate.

This time it was Republican challenger Austin Theriault who came out behind. His campaign had said he would seek a recount, and his campaign reiterated the request Friday evening.

“Every Mainer’s voice should be heard and their vote counted in this historically close race and we have seen several anomalies that can only be rectified with a full recount. We appreciate everyone’s patience and support as we work to ensure every vote is counted,” said Theriault’s campaign manager, Shawn Roderick.

Golden said the results show that he won, and he thanked his supporters. But he said Theriault was within his rights to request a recount. In the meantime, he said he would continue his work in Washington.

Maine’s 2nd District, which is largely rural and known for its lobster fishing and logging, has favored President-elect Donald Trump in each of his three elections.

Neither candidate won a majority of the first place votes on Election Day. The initial count of first-place choices put Golden ahead of Theriault by about 2,000 votes but both fell shy of a majority with less than 49% of the votes cast because of some 12,000 ballots that were either blank or had write-in candidates.

The initial outcome triggered Maine’s ranked choice process. All of the district’s ballots were shipped to the state capital, verified, scanned into a computer and retabulated in a process narrated on a livestream by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. Then, any second choices for Golden or Theriault on the blank ballots or by voters for write-in candidates were reallocated to determine a winner.

Some media prematurely declared Golden the winner before the secretary of state’s office invoked the ranked choice process, and Theriault’s campaign quickly requested a recount. The election results must be certified and sent to the governor by Maine’s Nov. 25 deadline, though state law grants an exception for recounts.

The recount, which has not yet been scheduled, would begin around Thanksgiving and continue into December, Bellows said.

This race was one of relatively few truly competitive contests nationwid e as both parties struggled to control the House of Representatives, and it drew about $50 million in political spending, a large sum for a mostly rural district.

Golden, who was known for his willingness to defy his own party, campaigned on his ability to work with both Democrats and Republicans and his advocacy for the lobster industry, which is the crucial to the economy in the region.

“I’ve been one of the most independent-minded members of Congress, one of the most bipartisan,” Golden said during an October debate, adding that he had voted against President Joe Biden “more than any other Democrat in the House of Representatives.”

But Golden was attacked for his opposition to assault weapons, which he announced after an Army reservist used an assault rifle to kill 18 people and injure 13 others in Lewiston in October 2023.

Theriault, who was first elected to the Maine House in 2022, portrayed Golden as too liberal for the district. And although Theriault had the backing of Trump, he also portrayed himself as a potential uniter during a time of division.

“We need more balance and less extremism in Washington,” Theriault said during the debate. “I’m somebody that can go down there and get the job done. I want to advocate for everybody.”

The district’s voters repeatedly sent Golden to Congress after election night-squeakers that weren’t settled without the state’s ranked-choice process. Ranked choice tabulations allowed Golden to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Bruce Poliquin in 2018, and to win a rematch in 2022.

The voting system adopted by Maine voters in 2016 lets voters rank their first, second and third choices of candidates on the ballot. A candidate who collects a majority of first-place votes is the winner. If there’s no majority winner, then last-place candidates are eliminated and their supporters’ second choices are used to reallocate the votes, and so on, until one candidate surpasses 50%.

The 2nd Congressional District is among the nation’s largest by area, stretching to Maine’s northernmost corners. Logging is a mainstay, and lobster fishing is a key source of income along the craggy Down East coast.

Maine is one of two states to divide electoral votes by congressional district — Nebraska is the other — and Trump has won his sole New England electoral vote in Maine’s 2nd District three times.

Maine’s other electoral votes — two for the statewide vote and one for the 1st Congressional District — have gone to the Democratic candidate because the deep blue 1st District is based around Portland, the largest city in the state and a liberal stronghold. Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree won her ninth term there, over Republican challenger Ron Russell and independent Ethan Alcorn.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows , right, addresses attorneys and campaign staffers as election workers scan ballots for ranked choice voting, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/David Sharp)

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows addresses attorneys and campaign staffers as election workers scan ballots for ranked choice voting, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/David Sharp)

Attorneys and observers review a printout from a voting machine to ensure the numbers match with the reported results as the state conducts additional tabulations under ranked choice voting in a congressional race, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Augusta, Maine. (AP Photo/David Sharp)

Maine's Secretary of State Shenna Bellows addresses a livestream as election workers scan ballots, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Augusta Maine. (AP Photo/David Sharp)

FILE - Republican congressional candidate Austin Theriault, right speaks with Carlos Kennelly, left, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 outside the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine. (AP Photo/Joel Page, File)

FILE - Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, fields a question from the media Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 6, 2024, during a press conference at his campaign office in Lewiston, Maine. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP, File)

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Leaders of Pacific Rim countries including the U.S. and China gathered Friday in Peru for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, the first major global summit since U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory.

The annual gathering brings together 21 economies that jointly account for almost two-thirds of global GDP and half the world’s trade, according to organizers.

Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden joined China’s President Xi Jinping, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto, Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and others as the world wonders how a new U.S. government might upend global dynamics.

Leaders and other representatives will hold closed-door discussions in the morning, following a welcome address by Peru's President Dina Boluarte that focused on the need to promote inclusive growth and reduce informal labor in APEC economies.

“Our objective is to level the playing field, providing all the necessary tools for inclusion in social, financial and commercial spaces,” Boluarte said. “We are convinced that growth starts with inclusion and that this is only possible through the empowerment of the citizenry that is the motor of our economies.”

APEC is bound to be one of Biden's last global summits before leaving office, and White House officials insist that his attendance as well as his subsequent visit to Brazil for the Group of 20 meeting next week will be substantive, with talks to focus on climate issues, global infrastructure, counter-narcotic efforts. The officials say Biden also will use the summits to press allies to keep up support for Ukraine as it tries to fend off Russia’s invasion and persist in negotiating an end to Israel's wars in Lebanon and Gaza.

For the first time since last year’s APEC forum, Biden will meet one-on-one with Chinese President Xi on Saturday. He met Peru’s Boluarte early afternoon Friday, and later with South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol and Japan’s Ishiba.

Biden praised the cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the U.S. at countering what he described as North Korea’s “dangerous and destabilizing cooperation with Russia.” He celebrated the partnership between Japan and South Korea, two countries that have historical enmity but under Biden’s presidency are now tightening security and economic ties as their corner of the world becomes more complicated.

“This is likely to be my last trilateral meeting with this important group. But I’m proud to have helped be one of the parts of building this partnership, and I think it’s built to last. That’s my hope and expectation. I truly believe cooperation of our countries will be the foundation to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific for many years to come," Biden said.

Through a translator, Ishiba echoed the sentiment: “I look forward to furthering our partnership in response against North Korea and in many other areas.”

Still, analysts said Biden may be overshadowed at APEC by Xi, who on Thursday night started his visit by inaugurating a $1.3 billion megaport that is perhaps the clearest sign of Latin America’s ongoing reorientation in the region.

Xi also met with Yoon on Friday. The Chinese leader appealed to neighborliness and cultural affinity, urging closer ties including contacts both at the high level and among people, according to China's state broadcaster CGTN. Xi told Yoon that the two countries should work together to safeguard the international free trade system and ensure the stability of the global supply chains, as Beijing is bracing for the Trump administration. Trump has threatened to impose 60% tariffs on Chinese goods.

Beijing announced on Nov. 1 that South Korean citizens can travel to China visa-free for up to 15 days, a move seen as countering the U.S.-Japan-South Korea alliance.

Later, he held his first-ever meeting with Ishiba. Xi reaffirmed cooperation toward building stable and constructive relations between the two Asian rivals, Ishiba told reporters afterward. Ishiba also said he conveyed to Xi his concerns about escalating Chinese military activity in the region and expressed willingness to visit China, but that nothing concrete has been decided.

Xi also held bilaterals Friday with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Chile’s President Gabriel Boric and New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, according to CGTN. On Thursday, he sat down privately with Boluarte.

Addressing questions regarding an incoming Trump administration at the APEC CEO summit, Canada's Trudeau recalled the last time Trump took office, pledging to rip up the North American Free Trade Agreement. Instead, he said, the nations worked hard to find ways to forge new terms, known as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, that served as proof trade can be beneficial to all parties.

“It wasn’t easy. And nothing is going to be easy this time,” Trudeau said. “Little secret: There is no American administration that is automatically easy for a Canadian government. They take a very robust look at their own interests and Canada adjusts.”

Likewise U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken used his 10-minute speech to champion more robust engagement with the world. Facing an audience seemingly drained by the long day of speeches, he joked: “I understand I’m the only thing standing between most of you and a Pisco sour” — Peru's national cocktail.

Although he didn’t mention Trump by name – nor his protectionist “America First” doctrine – Blinken offered a spirited defense of the Biden administration’s focus on reviving global relationships.

“Around the world we reimagined, re-energized, revitalized, strengthened and wove together our alliances and partnerships to try to advance an increasingly shared vision for a future,” he said.

He said Washington in recent years had stepped up involvement in multilateral organizations like APEC, saying such forums “are incredibly important. They concentrate minds.”

Outside Lima’s Convention Center where APEC is sited, metal barriers and police equipped with riot gear are surrounding the perimeter. For the past two days, anti-government protesters angry about a recent spate of gang-fueled violence have shouted slogans demanding that their wildly unpopular president take action against the crime wave.

The rallies have devolved into scuffles with police, who used batons to drive away the more aggressive protesters on Thursday. As APEC leaders gathered on Friday, a few dozen protesters were stopped by security barricades several blocks from the convention center. Vastly outnumbered by riot police, they chanted against government corruption and denounced Boluarte for the deaths of dozens of protesters in the wake of her predecessor’s ouster.

“Why would we want APEC here when the investment is just going to line their pockets?” Maria Melendez, a 48-year-old tour guide said of corrupt government officials. “We’re hungry and they’re over there talking about billions of dollars. How is that going to help us?”

Mia Rivera, 58, held a portrait of the ousted president, Pedro Castillo, and said she was discouraged by the low turnout. She said the heavy police presence and memory of the violent crackdown against demonstrators in 2022 deterred many of her friends from marching this week.

Associated Press writers Aamer Medhani in Lima, Didi Tang in Washington and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed.

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a handover ceremony at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

President Joe Biden, center, introduces President of Peru Dina Boluarte, second right, to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, left, as White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, second left, looks on before a bilateral meeting in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Joe Biden listens as President of Peru Dina Boluarte speaks during a bilateral meeting in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol waves during a handover ceremony at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol pose for a photo as they meet on the sidelines of the the APEC summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

President Joe Biden, left, speaks with President of Peru Dina Boluarte during a bilateral meeting in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President of Peru Dina Boluarte, second right, greets White House deputy chief of staff Bruce Reed as NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, from second left, and President Joe Biden look on before a bilateral meeting in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

U.S. President Joe Biden attends the APEC Leaders' Informal Dialogue at the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Chinese President Xi Jinping looks on during a ceremony to virtually inaugurate a Chinese-funded port in the city of Chancay, at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

China's President Xi Jinping, center, and Peru's President Dina Boluarte arrive at a virtual ceremony to inaugurate a Chinese-funded port in the city of Chancay, at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

An anti-government protester holds a sign with a message that reads in Spanish: "APEC Out" during a demonstration on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chilean President Gabriel Boric embrace during the APEC Leaders' Informal Dialogue at the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

President Joe Biden, from front row left, President of Vietnam Luong Cuong and Peru's Foreign Affairs Minister Elmer Schialer, participate in the APEC Leaders' Informal Dialogue at the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. In background at left is Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in the APEC Leaders' Informal Dialogue at the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

An anti-government protester confronts a cordon of police officers during a demonstration on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

Airmen stand guard next to a drone shield on the perimeters of the Ministry of Culture, the venue for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

U.S. President Joe Biden arrives to take part to in the Leaders' Informal Dialogue of the APEC Summit, in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

U.S. President Joe Biden arrives by car to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Police officers with national flags make their way to the Ministry of Culture, the venue for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

Peru's President Dina Boluarte, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping face the honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Peru's President Dina Boluarte speaks during the APEC Leaders' Informal Dialogue at the APEC Summit in Lima, Peru, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)

Police officers block anti-government protesters from making their way to Congress, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, left, and Peru's President Dina Boluarte pose for photos on the steps of the government palace during a welcoming ceremony at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Police detain an anti-government protester on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Children walk around in the Senor de la Soledad shantytown near a Chinese-funded port in Chancay, Peru, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

President Joe Biden greets Peru's Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen as he arrives at Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, to attend the APEC Summit. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

An anti-government protester holds a sign during a demonstration on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Peru's President Dina Boluarte, right, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands after a ceremony to virtually inaugurate a Chinese-funded port in the city of Chancay, at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

A Peruvian honor guard stand in formation at the end of a welcoming ceremony for Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

U.S. President Joe Biden deplanes in Lima, Peru, to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

Air Force members fix the red carpet before the arrival of Vietnam's President Luong Cuong in Lima, Peru, for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)

Vietnam's President Luong Cuong, left, and Peru's President Dina Boluarte pose for photos on the steps of the government palace in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Peru's Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen, wave on the airport tarmac after Xi's arrival to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)