Six Write-In Candidates Complicate Maine’s U.S. Senate Race, Trigger Ranked-Choice Voting

What was shaping up to be a head-to-head November battle between Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic challenger Troy Jackson just became considerably more complicated.

Six Mainers met Tuesday’s 5 p.m. deadline to formally declare as write-in candidates for Maine’s U.S. Senate race, guaranteeing that ranked-choice voting will be available in one of the most closely watched Senate contests in the country.

The candidates are Brent Andrews of York, who is unaffiliated; Sigrid Ann Olson of Cape Elizabeth, a Democrat; Gina Oswald of Strong, an independent; Joseph Steinberger of Rockland, running under the designation “Faith in Humanity”; Michael “Mike” Turcotte of Burnham, who is unenrolled; and Ashley J. Webb of Farmington, a Democrat.

Only Collins and Jackson will have their names printed on the Nov. 3 ballot. Voters wishing to support one of the six other candidates will have to write that candidate’s name on the designated line.

The write-in field may look like a political footnote, but in a potentially close election it could have significant consequences.

Under Maine law, ranked-choice voting applies to federal general elections. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the first-choice vote, the lowest-performing candidates are eliminated and their supporters’ votes are transferred to their next ranked choices until one candidate achieves a majority.

That means the six write-ins do not necessarily have to come close to winning to affect the Collins-Jackson race. Collectively, they could draw enough first-choice votes to keep either major-party candidate below 50 percent and force the contest into a ranked-choice tabulation.

Maine saw precisely that scenario in the 2024 2nd Congressional District race between Democratic Rep. Jared Golden and Republican Austin Theriault. Neither candidate initially exceeded 50 percent, sending the election to ranked-choice tabulation. Declared write-in candidate Diana Merenda received just 420 votes, while thousands of blank and undeclared write-in ballots also became part of the tabulation process.

Webb Returns After Viral Senate Debate

Of the six new candidates, Webb enters the race with by far the largest national internet footprint.

Webb, an author, musician and transgender activist, was one of the Democrats who attempted to secure the party’s Senate nomination after former nominee Graham Platner abruptly withdrew from the race in July.

According to Maine Public, Webb previously ran unsuccessfully for the New Hampshire Legislature in 2012 and 2020 before moving to Maine. Webb describes herself as an author and musician and told the Portland Press Herald voter guide that her priorities include health care reform, employer accountability and major infrastructure improvements in Maine.

But it was Webb’s appearance during a televised Democratic Senate debate in July that turned the relatively unknown candidate into an internet story.

Asked what qualifications she possessed to serve in the United States Senate, Webb pointed to her previous unsuccessful campaigns before adding that she was a songwriter and wrote her own books.

The response quickly spread across social media and was picked up by national outlets, including Fox News, where the exchange generated widespread attention and mockery from conservative commentators and social-media users.

The attention transformed Webb from an obscure candidate in Maine’s chaotic Democratic replacement contest into a nationally recognizable figure, at least online.

Webb ultimately failed to qualify for the Democratic Party’s July 25 nominating convention, where delegates overwhelmingly selected Jackson, the former Maine Senate president from Allagash, to replace Platner.

But Webb apparently was not finished.

Federal Election Commission records show Webb filed as a Democratic candidate for Maine’s Senate seat in July and established a principal campaign committee with the unusual name “Ashley Webb: Take No Prisoners.”

Now Webb is officially back as a declared write-in.

“My message to the people who tried to run me off this race is simple: you don’t get to decide who the voters hear from,” Webb said after filing, according to Spectrum News. Webb said she intends to fight “for the people of Maine and the underprivileged.”

Turcotte Takes Another Shot at the Senate

Turcotte also comes to the race with previous political experience.

The Burnham resident explored challenging Collins for the Senate in 2014 but abandoned the effort after citing a lack of public interest and campaign funding. He has also previously run for the Maine Legislature as an independent.

Turcotte has been involved in Maine political issues for years. In testimony submitted to Maine’s redistricting commission in 2021, he identified himself as a former ethics instructor and home caregiver and said he had previously gone to court challenging Maine’s redistricting process.

In announcing his latest campaign, Turcotte focused heavily on voter frustration with Washington.

“Washington produces conflict and instability while families are dealing with healthcare costs, housing, food prices, Social Security, immigration, and basic economic security,” Turcotte said.

Far less public political information is immediately available about Andrews, Olson and Steinberger.

Oswald appears to have a record of work involving disability employment and accessibility. Public records identify a Gina Oswald as having worked on accessibility projects in Franklin County and as a keynote speaker for a Maine Association of People Supporting Employment First conference. However, without additional confirmation connecting those records directly to the Senate candidate, those biographical details should not yet be treated as established facts about the write-in candidate.

No Platner Comeback

The filing deadline also closed the door on another potentially significant development.

Some supporters of Platner had urged the former Democratic nominee to launch a write-in campaign after his withdrawal, but Platner did not file the required declaration by Tuesday’s deadline.

That matters.

Under Maine election rules, simply writing Platner’s name on the November ballot will not count as a vote for him. The Secretary of State’s Office has said votes cast for someone who did not officially declare as a write-in candidate are treated as blank for that ranking.

Maine requires general-election write-in candidates to file a Declaration of Write-In Candidacy no later than 70 days before the election. This year’s deadline was Aug. 25.

The result is a Senate race unlike the straightforward Collins-versus-Jackson contest many Maine voters may have expected.

Collins, first elected to the Senate in 1996 and seeking a sixth term, remains one of the nation’s best-known moderate Republicans. Jackson, a former Maine Senate president and longtime labor ally from Allagash, inherited the Democratic nomination following an extraordinary summer of turmoil within the state party.

Now six write-in candidates have entered the equation.

None currently appears positioned to seriously challenge Collins or Jackson for the seat.

But in a close election, they may not have to.

If their combined support is enough to prevent Collins or Jackson from crossing the 50-percent threshold on Nov. 3, Maine voters could once again find themselves waiting days after Election Day for a ranked-choice count to determine who will represent the state in the United States Senate.