Franklin County residents narrowly topped their 2012 voting totals on Election Day Tuesday when they selected a U.S. president, a U.S. congressman, a state senator and five state representatives. Six statewide referendum questions were also on the ballot.
Franklin County’s individual municipality results can be seen here. Please note that all values have been rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent.
Election totals and results
Total for Franklin County – Presidential Election
Clinton/Kaine (D) … 7005 … 43 percent [state overall winner]
Johnson/Weld (L) … 1103 … 6.8 percent
Stein/Baraka (G) … 383 … 2.3 percent
Trump/Pence (R) … 7808 … 47.9 percent [county winner / district winner / national winner]
16,299 total votes were cast for U.S. president in Franklin County, narrowly topping the 16,115-voter turnout in 2012. Republican Donald Trump took nearly 48 percent of the vote, with that result falling in line with the 51/41 percent advantage statewide news media gave Trump in the 2nd Congressional District over Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee. That means that Trump will receive one of Maine’s four electoral votes; 1st Congressional District and the overall state vote went to Clinton.
It is the first time Maine will split its electoral votes since 1972, when the state began the practice of dividing its votes by congressional district. Trump, of course, won the general election by early Wednesday morning when Clinton conceded.
Third-part candidates Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, and Green Party-nominee Jill Stein took a slightly larger cuts of the voting base: 6.8 percent for Johnson compared to a little more than 5 percent across the entire state, and 2.3 percent for Stein compared to a little less than 2 percent statewide.
Total for Franklin County – U.S. Congress Election
Emily Cain (D) … 7638 … 46.5 percent
Bruce Poliquin (R) … 8797 … 53.5 percent [county winner / state winner]
16,435 total votes were cast for the U.S. Congress – District 2 race in Franklin County. U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin took 53.5 percent of the vote in Franklin County, very much in line with the numbers across the 2nd Congressional District. In Emily Cain’s second attempt to best Poliquin for the seat, she took 46.5 percent of the vote across the county and 47.7 percent across the district.
Total for Franklin County – State Senate District 17
Joanne Dunlap (D) … 4282 … 26.3 percent
Tom Saviello (R) … 12021 … 73.7 percent [county winner / district winner]
Sen. Tom Saviello (R – Wilton) cruised to an easy reelection to the District 17 seat over Democratic challenger Joanne Dunlap Tuesday, winning every single town in Franklin County except Rangeley Plantation, which Dunlap carried by a vote of 46 to 45. Saviello also picked up another 2200 votes in Kennebec County, compared to Dunlap’s 1156.
Total for Franklin County (Jay) – State House District 74
Keith Cornelio (R) … 1232 … 48.4 percent
Christina Riley (D) … 1313 … 51.6 percent [county winner / district winner]
Christina Riley of Jay will be representing District 74 for the next two years, succeeding Rep. Paul Gilbert (D – Jay). District 74 consists of the towns of Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls, with the latter towns both supporting Cornelio, a Jay selectperson, by a narrow, combined margin: a total of 20 votes when combining the Androscoggin County towns’ results. That was not enough to make up the 80-plus vote difference in Jay, which propelled Riley to victory.
Total for Franklin County – State House District 112
Barbara Chassie (D) … 1036 … 36.8 percent
Tom Skolfield (R) … 1178 … 63.2 percent [county winner / district winner]
2,814 total votes cast in District 112 inside Franklin County, including the towns of Avon, Carrabassett Valley, Carthage, Kingfield, Phillips, Weld and Sandy River Plantation, as well as the unorganized territories of Freeman, Madrid, Salem Townships, Perkins and Washington townships. Outside of Franklin County, the town of Starks also is part of District 112; residents there voted for Skolfield by a margin of 205 to 131. It will be Skolfield’s second term in the House of Representatives after his election in 2014.
Total for Franklin County (Farmington and New Sharon) – State House District 113
Lance Harvell (R) … 2431 … 51 percent [district winner]
Scott Landry (D) … 2338 … 49 percent
As previously reported, Lance Harvell took the House seat in District 113 by a little less than 100 votes, beating out local businessman Scott Landry. Harvell, whose previous experience included three terms in the State Legislature, lost Farmington by approximately 100 votes, 1877 to 1972, but made up that ground and more in New Sharon, which went for the former legislator 554 to 366.
Harvell will succeed Andy Buckland (R – Farmington) who did not run for reelection.
Total for Franklin County – State House District 114
Russell Black (R) … 3305 … 69.4 percent [district winner]
Guy Iverson (D) … 1456 … 30.6 percent
4761 total votes were cast in District 114, including the towns of Chesterville, Industry, New Vineyard, Strong, Temple and Wilton. The incumbent Rep. Russell Black (R – Wilton) won handily, taking all six towns by wide margins.
Black was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2010.
Total for Franklin County – State House District 117
Frances Head (R) … 869 … 56.6 percent [county winner / district winner]
Sidney Pew (D) … 665 … 43.3 percent
Incumbent Rep. Frances Head (R – Bethel) won every Franklin County community that makes up the sprawling District 117: Eustis, Rangeley, Coplin Plantation, Dallas Plantation and Rangeley Plantation. She also carried Oxford County towns, including the larger population areas such as Bethel and Pew’s hometown of Andover.
It will be Head’s second term in the House.
Referendum Questions
Total for Franklin County – Question 1 (Legalize Marijuana)
Yes … 8516 … 51 percent [county winner / state leading, but not called]
No … 8193 … 49 percent
Question 1 has yet to be called by every newspaper as of Wednesday afternoon, with those in favor of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana clinging to a narrow lead of a few thousand votes statewide. Those opposing the legalization act are not conceding until all votes have been counted.
It appears that Franklin County voters are slightly more in favor of Question 1 than the rest of the state, which is showing a 1 percent advantage or less for the ‘yes’ side. A number of towns, including New Sharon and Farmington, are planning to hold special town meetings to create temporary moratoriums on retail marijuana development.
Total for Franklin County – Question 2 (Education Fund)
Yes … 8189 … 48.4 percent [state leading, but not called]
No … 8730 … 51.6 percent [county winner]
Question 2, which establishes a 3 percent tax on individual Maine taxable income above $200,000 to bolster state aid for education, is similarly clinging to a narrow lead this afternoon. If that result holds, it would mark a modest derivation from the county’s results, which saw most towns vote against the ballot question, albeit by generally narrow margins. Farmington backed the initiative by 500-plus votes, offsetting some but not all of the no votes in smaller communities throughout the county.
Total for Franklin County – Question 3 (Background Checks)
Yes … 5730 … 33.9 percent
No … 11157 … 66.1 percent [county winner / state winner]
Proponents of Question 3 saw the measure as a necessary step to close what they said were loopholes within the firearm background check laws but the statewide electorate disagreed, voting down the proposal by a vote of 48.4 to 51.6 percent. Locally, Question 3 did significantly worse, failing to pass in any Franklin County town except Carrabassett Valley and only capturing a third of the countywide vote.
Total for Franklin County – Question 4 (Minimum Wage Increase)
Yes … 8727 … 51.9 percent [county winner / state winner]
No … 8099 … 48.1 percent
The minimum wage increase passed comfortably in Franklin County and by an even wider margin across the state; it was one of the first referendum questions to be called Tuesday evening. The 55.6 percent ‘yes’ vote will bump the hourly minimum wage from $7.50 to $9 next year, rising a dollar a year to $12 in 2020. Service workers receiving tips will go to $5 in 2017, rising $1 per year until they equal the general minimum wage.
Total for Franklin County – Question 5 (Ranked Choice Voting)
Yes … 7892 … 47.7 percent [state winner]
No … 8666 … 52.3 percent [county winner]
Question 5 may require additional tinkering at the Legislative level; the Attorney General’s Office has already indicated a constitutional resolve would be required to implement ranked-choice voting for several offices, including governor, state senator and state representative. Franklin County residents voted against the measure by a margin that neatly inverted the statewide result: 47.7 percent in favor to 52.3 percent opposed locally, with those numbers exchanged at the state level.
Total for Franklin County – Question 6 (Transportation Bond Issue)
Yes … 8516 … 55.4 percent [county winner / state winner]
No … 8193 … 44.6 percent
The $100 million transportation bond followed the strong run of past bond issues in Maine, passing easily across the state and county. The bond will raise $80 million for state highways, secondary roads and bridges, as well as another $20 million for a variety of facilities and amenities, including ports, harbors, railroads, public transit systems, bicycle and pedestrian trails. The total cost of borrowing the $100 million is expected to be $133 million in principal and interest, assuming a 6 percent rate over the 10-year life of the bond.
The practice of Maine being able to split its electoral votes did resume in 1972 though it was one practiced earlier in several states including Maine, Massachusetts, and Maryland in the 19th century.
Thank you for this clear and concise summary.