The ranked-choice voting presidential primary in Maine is a messy affair. On Tuesday, March 5, it’s still unclear if the U.S. Supreme Court will allow former President Donald Trump on the Republican ballot in Maine. As of Friday, there are five names on the ballot, although three of them have suspended their campaigns, leaving only Trump and Nikki Haley.
Meanwhile, the Republican Party of Maine says it will ignore the results of the ranked-choice vote on Tuesday. Maine law says the party has that right, because it’s the parties that choose the delegates, not the overall voters.
In November, the Maine Republican Party officials said the only result that will matter to the party is whomever wins the most votes on the first count.
On Friday, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she had cast her ballot for Haley, becoming the second GOP senator, after Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, to pick Haley. Murkowski slipped the announcement to select news agencies on Thursday. Like Murkowski, Collins was one of eight GOP senators who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment, which took place after he left office in 2021.
Collins endorsement came after she received questions from the Bangor Daily News. She told the newspaper that Haley is “extremely well-qualified” to be the first female president. “She has the energy, intellect, and temperament that we need to lead our country in these very tumultuous times.”
Both Maine and Alaska have ranked-choice systems for statewide elections, although Alaska does not have an open primary or ranked-choice general election for president. The novel voting scheme is only for political seats down the ballot. That’s because it’s the parties themselves that get to decide how to divide up the delegates for the national conventions.
Maine is one of the 30 states where a challenge was made to prevent Trump from being on the ballot. A state court ruled against Trump, but he appealed that decision and the Supreme Court has not issued a decision.
The question is whether Trump’s effort to overturn his defeat in 2020 disqualify him from holding office based on a novel interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which was added after the Civil War to prohibit government officials who “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding office.
The 14th Amendment argument was met with skepticism by the Supreme Court, but as Super Tuesday approaches, every state is, at this point, making it up as they go along, with no direction from the high court.
As for what to expect in Maine, it appears Collins is picking a loser. A University of New Hampshire Survey Poll shows Trump leading Haley among Republican voters in Maine by a large margin. In the Feb. 15-19 poll, Trump leads with 77% to Haley’s 19%, for a +58% margin.
