Former Republican President Donald Trump easily won a student mock election held Tuesday at nearly 140 schools across the state.
Trump won 52% of the vote, beating Vice President Kamala Harris by more than 2,400 votes, according to results posted online by the secretary of state’s office.
Harris received 41% of the vote, while independent Cornel West received 2%, with Green Independent Jill Stein getting 1.9% and Libertarian Chase Oliver getting 1.8%.
Maine students have a remarkable track record in predicting the election outcome, though they’re not flawless. Students have correctly chosen the winning presidential candidate in each election since 2008, when Democrat Barack Obama beat Republican John McCain. But students chose Democrat Sarah Gideon over Republican incumbent Susan Collins in the 2020 U.S. Senate race, but Collins cruised to a victory.
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden narrowly beat Republican challenger Austin Theriault in the mock election, 49.3% to 48.8% – a difference of just 255 votes.
Maine will use ranked choice voting in the federal races, but an instant runoff would not have been triggered in the presidential election, since Trump earned more than 50% on the first ballot.
But the 2nd District race would have required a runoff and would have been decided for the 164 votes cast for “other.”
Independent U.S. Sen. Angus King was the student favorite, earning 43.3% of the vote. Republican Demi Kouzounas received 23.9%, independent Jason Cherry received 16.3% and Democrat David Costello got 14.9%.
In the 1st Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, the Democratic incumbent, earned 40.9% of the vote, while Republican Ron Russell received 38.6% and independent Ethan Alcorn got 19.4%.
The Student Mock Election is one of several educational programs from the secretary of state’s office. It’s aimed at increasing civic awareness and participation in elections and local government.
“Hands-on learning through a mock election is a great way to teach young Mainers about our electoral process, government and the importance of making their voices heard at the ballot box,” Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said in a statement Tuesday. “Broad civics education is an important building block for the rest of their lives.”
More than 19,530 students from 116 schools participated in the 2022 mock elections, according to the state.
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