The defeat of longtime Sen. Susan Collins by challenger Troy Jackson in the U.S. Senate race may be the biggest story out of Tuesday’s elections, but Aroostook residents also chose state, county and local leaders.
Though all of the County swung red for Collins — including Jackson’s native Allagash — voters statewide pushed the former logger over the top. Collins conceded early Wednesday morning.
Republican Paul LePage was headed for a victory by a slim margin Wednesday over Democrat Matt Dunlap in a U.S. House race for Maine’s 2nd District. The Bangor Daily News hasn’t yet called the race.
Democrat Hannah Pingree won her bid for governor with 54.5% of the statewide vote, defeating Republican challenger Bobby Charles, who garnered 37.3%. Independent Rick Bennett collected 8.1 percent.
Aroostook’s two state Senate races had not been called as of Wednesday afternoon, but Republican Lucien Daigle led District 1 with 9,668 votes over Democrat Vaughn McLaughlin’s 6,488, and Republican Trey Stewart led Democrat Janel Underwood-Charette 10,477 to 5,399.
We’ve recapped the numbers from The County’s three major municipalities below. To find results from your community, visit the Bangor Daily News’ election results section, where you’ll see maps and tallies from around the state.
Houlton
Houlton voters reelected incumbent councilors Sue Tortello, John “J.J.” Schools and Fred Grant. Challengers Darryl Scott White and Chris Robinson were also elected. Grant led the pack with 1,766 votes, followed by Schools with 1,437, Tortello with 1,333, White 1,025 and Robinson with 131.
Cassandra Nightingale and Gary Lovell won two of three RSU 29 school board seats with 1,494 and 1,124 votes, respectively. The third seat remains unfilled because no one ran.
Wade Hanson with 1,468 votes and Peter D. Chase with 1,419 were elected Houlton Water Co. directors.
Two vied for a five-year term with the Cary Library Board of Trustees. Kathy G. Chase won with 1,834 votes to declared write-in Jennifer Lynds with 19 votes.
Three declared write-in candidates filled three of six open seats on the Houlton Board of Budget Review. Carl Lord Jr. with 38 votes and Donna Johnson Barnard with 28 will serve three-year terms. Thomas Moakler, with 35 votes, will serve a two-year term.
Collins led Houlton voters with 1,368 votes to Jackson’s 757 in the U.S. Senate race. LePage received 1,223 votes for District 2 House, with Dunlap trailing with 894 votes.
Pingree received 847 Houlton votes, while Charles had 1,144 votes and Bennett had 138.
Stewart led the pack with 1,321 votes, followed by Underwood-Charette at 773. The District 7 state House race went to former Houlton Town Councilor Jantzen Craine with 1,118 votes.
Declared write-in Leigh S. Smith got 16 votes for Aroostook County treasurer, with 2,157 ballots left blank.
Melissa Richardson was reelected Aroostook Southern District Recorder of Deeds with 1,765 votes, and Kari Ann Wells-Puckett received 1,328 votes for District 8 District Attorney.
County Commissioner William Dobbins was reelected to District 1 with 1,647 votes.
Clayton Quint won a seat on the Aroostook County Charter Commission District 1 with 1,613 votes, with 2,733 left blank.
Presque Isle
In Presque Isle, a three-way City Council race went to incumbent Jeffery Willette and Eugene Cronin, who won two four-year terms with 1,852 and 1,802 votes, respectively. First-time candidate Jeremiah Harris garnered 1,329 votes.
It’s the third term for Willette and the first for Cronin.
John Harvell and Lori Kenneson ran unopposed for seats on the SAD 1 school board, representing Presque Isle. Harvell had 442 votes from Section 5, while Kenneson netted 171 in Section 9.
In Aroostook County races, Presque Isle residents gave Melissa Richardson 2,598 votes for the southern area Registry of Deeds. Kari Wells-Puckett received 2,486 votes for County district attorney. Declared write-in Leigh Smith was chosen county treasurer.
State Senate candidate Trey Stewart, a Republican, received 1,947 votes and Democratic challenger Janel Underwood-Charette had 1,351, giving Stewart the likely win to represent District 2. As of Wednesday afternoon the BDN had not yet called the race.
For District 5 of the Maine House, which covers Presque Isle, Republican Doug Carlisle captured 54% of the vote, or 1,775 votes, defeating Democrat Lori Kenneson, who had 46% with 1,509 votes.
Presque Isle gave Collins 1,925 votes to 1,376 for Jackson in the U.S. Senate race.
For Maine governor, Charles narrowly beat out Pingree 1,515 to 1,449 among city voters, and LePage with 1,679 votes topped Dunlap, who received 1,594.
Caribou
Caribou elected one incumbent and two new faces to its City Council in an uncontested race.
Sitting councilor Tamara Lovewell was reelected with 1,990 votes, and newcomers Jeff Whitney and George LaCasse Jr. won seats with 1,591 and 1,553, respectively.
The city also considered a local question, asking residents whether to authorize spending up to $2.9 million on an aerial ladder truck for the Caribou Fire and Ambulance Department, to be funded by “any combination of municipal funds, reserves, grants, the issuance of bonds, lease-purchase or bank financing, as determined by the City Council.”
Residents approved the measure 1,800-1,098, with 177 ballots left blank.
In the three-way race for two RSU 39 school board seats, Melissa Swanberg and Dale Gordon came out on top with 1,873 and 1,224 votes, respectively. Challenger Christina Peterson received 1,192.
Tiffany Stewart earned 2,563 votes for a seat on the Jefferson Cary Memorial Hospital Fund.
Caribou and Connor Township voters were combined for other races. In the state Senate race, Lucien Daigle won the bid for District 1 with 1,789 votes over Vaughn McLaughlin’s 1,354.
For state House District 3, Sue Bernard captured 110 votes over David McCrea’s 40, and Timothy Guerrette won District 4 unopposed with 2,606.
In County races, for register of deeds, Amy Ouellette received 106 votes for northern Aroostook and Melissa Richardson received 2,504 for southern Aroostook. Wells-Puckett received 2,299 votes for district attorney and Smith garnered 33 write-in votes.
Caribou/Connor gave Collins 2,056 votes to 1,114 for Jackson in the U.S. Senate race, and for U.S. House chose LePage, with 1.798 votes, over Dunlap, with 1,342.
For Maine governor they chose Charles, with 1,657 votes, over Pingree, with 1,216. Bennett received 300.
