Democrat Emily Cain has formally conceded the 2nd Congressional District race to Republican Bruce Poliquin. The vote counting last night showed a contest neither candidate was willing to call before breaking off their election-night gatherings. The Bangor Daily News did call the race for Poliquin early this morning.
In an emailed statement, Cain writes, "Last night we experienced a national wave of frustration with a Congress that has refused to come to the table to solve problems, and people are right to be upset."
She adds, "I hope that Washington listens to the message that was sent and puts aside partisanship and politics and starts putting people first."
The 2nd District seat is currently held by Democrat Mike Michaud, who gave it up to make what turned out to be an unsuccessful bid to unseat Republican Paul LePage. However, Republicans already have strong control of the U.S. House, so this seat switch won't have a major effect on Congressional politics.