Republican Maine congressional nominee Paul LePage on Thursday became the only Republican nominee to flip a House district from Democrats in a non-redistricted seat in the 2026 midterm elections.
LePage beat Democrat nominee Matthew Dunlap to represent Maine's 2nd Congressional District. Republicans failed to win more than three seats from Democrats in 2026, even after gerrymandering efforts in several states.
LePage will succeed Democrat Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, who did not seek reelection in 2026. LePage was governor of Maine from 2011 to 2019 and was endorsed by the Tea Party during his initial run for governor. LePage ran for a third non-consecutive term as governor in 2022 but lost to Democrat Gov. Janet Mills. LePage carried District Two by a 60% margin in 2022 despite losing.
At 78 years old, LePage will be one of the oldest freshman representatives in House history. (RELATED: The Guy Who Is Supposed To Get Republicans Elected Can't Even Elect Himself)
Statement from Brent Littlefield, Senior Advisor to Congressman-Elect, and former Governor, Paul LePage:
— Paul LePage (@MainePaulLePage) November 5, 2026
“I have spoken with Secretary of State Bellows and we are aware initial indications show a small number of blank votes and write-ins for this race may trigger Ranked Choice…
President Donald Trump-backed efforts to pick up seats through gerrymandering were largely unsuccessful. Texas Republicans redistricted five seats in the hopes of helping their candidates, but only one of those districts flipped red. Florida's new map, meant to flip four seats red, did not succeed in netting a single seat for Republicans as of this writing.
Many Republican incumbents could not hold on to their seats, such as Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York and Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.
The Republican Party struggled to hold onto some of its biggest strongholds, losing Senate seats in South Carolina and Texas to Democrats. Maine's almost 30-year incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins lost her race to Democratic Sen.-elect Troy Jackson.
So far in the midterm election, five governor races have flipped to blue, and Democrats netted over three- dozen House seats.
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