Election officials say a ranked-choice voting tabulation aimed at determining the winner of a key congressional race in Maine starts in the coming week

Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, a moderate known for defying party orthodoxy, is in a tight race to keep his seat in Congress against Austin Theriault, a stock car driver and Republican state lawmaker.

With the balance of power in the U.S. House still up for grabs, Democrats were claiming victory in a key tossup race in Maine. While NBC News hasn’t projected a winner at 77% of votes counted, the Maine Democratic Party said Wednesday afternoon that Rep.

The Maine 2nd Congressional District race between incumbent Democrat Rep. Jared Golden and Republican challenger Austin Theriault is heading to a ranked-choice tabulation.

An additional round of counting and redistributing of votes under Maine's ranked choice system is necessary to declare the winner of a key congressional race in Maine because neither candidate captured a majority initially,

If they picked a number two after that first choice blank or write-in, then that does get tabulated in the ranked choice voting tabulation,” Maine Secretary of State Shenna B

The bruising and expensive race for Maine's 2nd District seat is headed to a ranked choice runoff in which a write-in candidate and blank ballots could play roles.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced ranked-choice tabulation will be required based on the initial results of the General Election for Maine Congressional District 2. The ranked choice voting tabulation is a public process that will begin next week in Augusta.

The Maine Secretary of State's Office says neither incumbent Jared Golden nor challenger Austin Theriault received more than half the vote in the U.S. House race.