Maine’s race for governor heads to ranked choice tallies in both primaries

Democratic Gov. Janet Mills is barred by term limits from running again, leading to a wide-open race.

The Democratic and Republican primaries for governor of Maine are both up in the air, with a broad field of candidates competing and Maine’s ranked choice voting system adding another layer of complexity.

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No candidate in either primary will get majority support, NBC News projects, meaning both contests will go to ranked choice tabulations to determine the nominees.

In 2016, Maine was the first state to implement ranked choice voting for statewide and federal elections. When no one gets a majority, support from lower-performing candidates is reallocated to those voters’ next choices, and the process repeats until a candidate wins.