2024 Maine Republican presidential primary explained

Election Name:2024 Maine Republican presidential primary
Country:Maine
Type:primary
Ongoing:Yes
Previous Election:2020 Maine Republican presidential primary
Previous Year:2020
Next Election:2028 Maine Republican presidential primary
Next Year:2028
Election Date:March 5, 2024
Outgoing Members:CO
Elected Members:MA
Votes For Election:20 Republican National Convention delegates
Image1:Donald Trump 2023 (cropped).jpg
Candidate1:Donald Trump
Color1:283681
Home State1:Florida
Popular Vote1:79,034
Percentage1:71.92%
Delegate Count1:20
Candidate2:Nikki Haley
Color2:fe6100
Home State2:South Carolina
Popular Vote2:27,912
Percentage2:25.40%
Delegate Count2:0

The 2024 Maine Republican presidential primary was held on March 5, 2024, as part of the Republican Party primaries for the 2024 presidential election. 20 delegates to the 2024 Republican National Convention were allocated on a winner-take-most basis.[1] The contest was held on Super Tuesday alongside primaries in 14 other states. This was a semi-closed primary where party members may only vote in their respective party's primary, but unenrolled voters may choose a party's primary to participate in. This change in law from Maine's previous closed primary went into effect on May 14, 2022, without Gov. Janet Mills' signature.[2]

On December 28, 2023, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows declared that Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on the state's primary ballot under the Fourteenth Amendment due to his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[3] Following the Supreme Courts unanimous decision in Trump v. Anderson that Trump should remain on the ballot, Bellows withdrew the ban.

Electoral system

As with all statewide elections in Maine since 2016, the primary will take place using ranked-choice voting. However, the Maine Republican Party, which is opposed to ranked-choice voting, has stated that it will disregard the final results if there is an automatic runoff, only recognizing the first round results.[4] If a candidate gets over 50% in the first round, there will be no automatic runoff, but if no candidate gets over 50%, then the last place candidate will be eliminated and their votes distributed to whoever their voters marked as their second choice, and so on, until a candidate reaches over 50%. This could lead to the state recognizing one winner based on the ranked-choice results and the Republican Party recognizing a different one based on whoever won the plurality of votes in the first round.

Chris Christie qualification controversy

Former Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie failed to make the Maine primary ballot, as he did not submit the required 2,000 signatures to the Secretary of State by the November 20 deadline. Christie attempted to appeal the decision, but the Maine Superior Court upheld the secretary's ruling.[5]

Attempted disqualification of Trump

See also: 2024 presidential eligibility of Donald Trump.

On December 15, 2023, two challenges to Trump's eligibility as a candidate for the primary election via Section 3 of the 14th Amendment were presented to the Maine Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows.[6] [7]

On December 28, 2023, Bellows announced Trump's ineligibility in a 34-page ruling,[8] arguing that he "used a false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporters."[9] However, removal from the ballot has been stayed to permit time to appeal.[10] On January 2, 2024, Trump appealed the ruling to the Maine Superior Court, arguing that Bellows is biased and that she has "no legal authority to consider the federal constitutional issues presented by the challengers".[11] Maine Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy did not make a decision on January 17 and instructed Bellows to let the United States Supreme Court first decide its ruling in Trump v. Anderson and to issue a new ruling within 30 days once the Supreme Court ruling is given. Trump remains on the ballot in the meanwhile.[12] Bellows appealed to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on January 19.[13] The Supreme Court ruled on March 4 in favor of keeping Trump on the ballot; Bellows withdrew the ban shortly afterwards.[14]

Candidates

Official candidates on the ballot

The following candidates were announced by the Maine Department of the Secretary of State on December 1.[15]

Failed to make ballot

Endorsements

See main article: Endorsements in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries.

Polling

Maine's 2nd congressional district

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
Nikki
Haley
Mike
Pence
OtherUndecided
January 3, 2023Redrawing of congressional districts after the 2020 redistricting cycle
January 20, 2021Inauguration of Joe Biden
November 3, 20202020 presidential election
SurveyUSA[22] Jun 30 – July 6, 2020604 (LV)± 4.1%12%30%36%21%

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: March 5, 2023 . Maine Republican Presidential Nominating Process. February 9, 2023 . thegreenpapers.com.
  2. Web site: Meyers. David . Maine joins list of states with open primaries. June 20, 2023 . The Fulcrum . en.
  3. News: Seitz-Wald . Alex . December 28, 2023. Maine's top election official rules Trump ineligible for 2024 primary ballot . en . NBC News. December 28, 2023.
  4. Web site: admin . November 9, 2023 . Maine GOP Will Nullify RCV In Presidential Primary. December 28, 2023 . Maine GOP . en-US.
  5. News: Kazarian. Grace. Woodall. Hunter. Judge keeps Chris Christie off Maine's Republican primary ballot. December 23, 2023 . CBS News . December 21, 2023.
  6. News: Bartow. Adam . Multiple petitions seek to remove Donald Trump from Maine primary ballot. en. WMTV.
  7. News: Montellaro. Zach. December 15, 2023. Maine's elections chief publicly grapples with whether 14th Amendment disqualifies Trump. en. Politico. December 16, 2023.
  8. Web site: Maine Secretary of State Decision in Challenge to Trump Presidential Primary Petitions. December 29, 2023. www.maine.gov.
  9. News: December 28, 2023 . Trump blocked from Maine presidential ballot in 2024 . en-GB . BBC News . December 29, 2023.
  10. News: Freiman . Jordan . December 28, 2023. Maine secretary of state disqualifies Trump from primary ballot. CBS News . December 29, 2023 . en.
  11. Web site: Trump Appeals Decision Barring Him From Maine Primary Ballot . January 2, 2024 . Russell . Jenna . . January 2, 2024.
  12. Web site: Maine judge defers decision on Trump 14th Amendment question until Supreme Court rules. Schonfeld. Zach. The Hill. January 17, 2024. January 19, 2024.
  13. Web site: Maine's top election official asks state supreme court to review Trump ballot eligibility decision. CBS News. Quinn. Melissa. January 19, 2024. January 19, 2024.
  14. Web site: Maine secretary of state withdraws Trump ballot ban. Lee. Ella. March 4, 2024. March 5, 2024. The Hill.
  15. Web site: Trump and 5 rivals qualify for Republican presidential primary ballot in Maine. Portland Press Herald. Ohm. Rachel. December 1, 2023. December 6, 2023.
  16. Web site: Snyder . Rachel . February 27, 2024 . North Texas CEO, pastor ends 2024 presidential campaign. February 28, 2024. WFAA. en-US.
  17. Web site: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum drops presidential bid after failing to qualify for fourth debate. Politico. December 4, 2023. December 6, 2023. Frazier. Kierra.
  18. News: Koretski . Katherine . January 15, 2024 . Vivek Ramaswamy drops out of the 2024 presidential race, endorses Trump . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240116054707/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/vivek-ramaswamy-dropping-2024-presidential-race-rcna133875. January 16, 2024 . January 16, 2024 . NBC News . en.
  19. Web site: Ron DeSantis suspends his presidential bid and endorses Trump. NBC News. Hernández. Alec. Dixon. Matt. Burns. Dasha. Allen. Jonathan. January 21, 2024. January 21, 2024.
  20. Web site: Christie, Hutchinson absent from Maine GOP primary ballot. Robertson. Nick. The Hill. December 3, 2023. December 3, 2023.
  21. https://web.archive.org/web/20230606155440/https://www.digitalresearch.com/_files/ugd/c45f7d_2371d11902274ab094934fa467c6f9ed.pdf Digital Research Inc.
  22. http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=d60bcd63-12bd-4b7c-85e8-5102d7b932f0 SurveyUSA