2026 forecast · Maine 1st

Chellie Pingree is all but certain to win Maine's 1st District.

Chellie Pingree vs Ron Russell. The model has Pingree ahead by 26.9 points, winning 100 percent of 2,000 simulated elections.

Safe DModel D +26.9Polls R +0.0Updated October 22, 2026
Chellie Pingree
Democrat
63.5%
244,998 projected votes
Ron Russell
Republican
36.5%
141,069 projected votes
100%Pingree
0%Russell
Pingree all but certainEach square is one simulated election night, Pingree wins about 100 of 100
RatingSafe D100% chance for Pingree
Model marginD +26.9Polls R +0.0
80 percent rangeD +35.2 to D +18.32,000 simulations
Projected votes386,067Pingree 63.5%

The district map

Every district in the state, shaded by its rating

Maine districts

2 districts
Safe DLikely DLean DToss upLean RLikely RSafe R

Vote share

Each candidate's projected share and the range of 80 percent of simulations

Chellie PingreeDemocrat · 100% to win
63.5%
Ron RussellRepublican · 0% to win
36.5%

Scale runs from 25 to 75 percent. The dot is the forecast, the band is the 80 percent range and the brighter tick marks 50 percent.

Projected district vote

386,067 votes
CandidateVotesShare
Chellie Pingree D244,99863.5%
Ron Russell R141,06936.5%
Total386,067100%

Each candidate's expected vote in the On Point simulation, at the forecast's projected turnout.

The trend

Each side's chance of winning over the forecast's recent updates

0%25%50%75%100%100% Pingree0% Russell15 updates agoToday

Polling

Every poll in the average, and how the model reads it

The Maine governor polling average
30%35%40%45%50%55%60%JulAugSepOct49.9Pingree37.9Charles
The line is the On Point average: a robust LOWESS fit through the polls, weighted by recency, sample, voter screen and pollster grade, refit three times so outliers count for lessDot size is each poll's weight todayHover or use the arrow keys to read any day
What moves the average today
The Washington Post-Schar SchoolOct 5 · 800 LV · A+16%Pingree +13.0
Fabrizio Ward and Impact Research for AARPSep 22 · 982 LV · B16%Pingree +13.0
New York Times/Siena UniversitySep 22 · 619 LV · Gold15%Pingree +13.0
Suffolk UniversityOct 11 · 500 LV · B+14%Pingree +11.0
co/efficient (R)Sep 30 · 1,240 LV · C+11%Pingree +9.0
CBS News/YouGovOct 1 · 1,144 LV · C9.4%Pingree +12.0
Every other poll together: 18%

This is the same On Point polling average as the full average page. The forecast reads the polls through its own Election Day projection, shown as the On Point average in the table below, and blends it with partisan lean and fundamentals.

Polls of the race

Full average
PollsterSampleAgeMargin
On Point averageWeighted averageR +0.0

Each margin is the poll as the pollster published it. The forecast counts every poll after its house effect and the undecided split, which is what the trail above shows; hover a margin for the counted value. Lean R and Lean D mark partisan leaning firms.

Model margin
Pingree +26.9
Chance of winning
Chellie Pingree100%
Ron Russell0%
Simulated vote
Chellie Pingree63.5%
Ron Russell36.5%
How the model gets there
Partisan leanR +22.0
FundamentalsD +26.7
With pollsD +26.1
Early vote turnoutD +0.8
With early voteD +26.9

Read from 0 ballots cast so far in Maine, against the party mix the forecast expected of them, with similar states and primary turnout. Early vote tracker

How we got here

From the state's partisan lean to the forecast, one stage at a time

D +32R +32Partisan leanthe state's baselineR +22.0Fundamentalsapproval, economy, candidatesD +26.7With pollsaverage R +0.0D +26.1With early voteturnout so farD +26.9
Methodology
Every county is rebuilt by simulating voters going to the polls, 2,000 times, from On Point Polling survey data, past results, and the polling average. How the model works.