OLD TOWN, Maine — Democrat Matt Dunlap conceded Maine's 2nd Congressional District race to Republican former Gov. Paul LePage on Thursday, Nov. 5, shortly after state election officials said the contest would go to a ranked-choice count.

In a statement from his campaign, Dunlap said he does not believe the runoff will change the outcome.

"This isn't the result we were hoping for, and I'm disappointed that we came short. Congratulations to Paul LePage, I wish him the best," Dunlap said.

Dunlap also thanked his campaign volunteers "who knocked doors, made calls, and made their voices heard," saying he was honored to have worked alongside them over the past year.

The office of Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said earlier Thursday that neither candidate won more than 50% of the ballots cast, triggering a ranked-choice tabulation, the Bangor Daily News reported. The count had been scheduled to start Nov. 9 in Augusta.

LePage led Dunlap by 5,418 first-choice votes, according to the newspaper, which found that the 6,140 blank and write-in ballots left in play were too few for Dunlap to overcome that margin.

LePage declared victory at a Nov. 4 news conference in Bangor, before the race had been called.

The seat is open because Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, who first won it in 2018, did not seek reelection.

LePage served two terms as Maine's governor, from 2011 to 2019, and was previously mayor of Waterville. Dunlap, the state auditor, served as Maine's secretary of state for 14 years.