The January 11 special election for House District 27, which includes parts of Scarborough and Gorham, ended in victory for Democratic candidate Jim Boyle.
With 100% of votes reported as of the morning of January 12, Boyle won with 57% of the vote, Republican Tim Thorsen finished second with 38.5% of the vote and independent candidate Suzanne Philips finished third with 5.4% of the vote.
Turnout for the election was approximately 18%.
The special election was the result of former Representative Kyle Bailey, a Democrat, who resigned on October 15, 2021. Bailey, who was serving his first term in the House, resigned citing an unspecified “exciting professional opportunity.”
On November 10, Gov. Janet Mills and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows signed a proclamation announcing the special election.
Recognized political parties had until 5 p.m. on November 29, 2021 to nominate a candidate and write-in candidates had until 5 p.m. on December 6, 2021 to declare their candidacy.
Groups aligned with Boyle outspent their Republican counterparts by approximately six-to-one in independent expenditures. Just over $7,000 was spent in support of Thorsen’s campaign, while just over $44,000 was spent in support of Boyle’s.
Thorsen’s campaign spent no money on direct mail, television ads, social media and online advertising, or website hosting fees. His campaign did spend just under $1,000 on printed campaign materials.
Boyle’s campaign spent just over $5,000 on direct mail, over $1,000 on social media advertising, and $650 on television ads and production and media buyer costs. Like Thorsen, his campaign spent nothing on website hosting fees and spent slightly less—$915 to Thorsen’s $957—on printed campaign materials.
Boyle’s campaign also outpaced Thorsen’s in contributions and expenditures. Both campaigns were financed through the Maine Clean Election Act. Philips’ campaign was traditionally financed.
Phillips’ campaign received $588 in contributions and listed no expenditures. Boyle’s campaign received $9,225 in contributions and spent just over $8,528. Thorsen’s campaign received just over $6,470 in contributions and spent just under $5,127.
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