I want to extend my congratulations to Jared Golden, who was fairly elected by the people of Maine’s Second Congressional District through our lawful ranked-choice voting process.

I am pleased that our state’s ranked-choice election had the opportunity to run its proper course today, ensuring that voters who supported me had the opportunity to be fully heard.  

The thoughtful consideration of the United States District Court for the District of Maine, which recognized that arguments attacking the constitutionality of the ranked-choice voting process are unlikely to succeed, validated our state’s lawful election process.   The court’s opinion affirms what the voters in Maine have been saying for a long time:  We want options for our congressional candidates, and we want to be able to take a chance on supporting independent voices without being stuck to the two major parties, which don’t work for a lot of us.   

Thank you to the voters who took a leap of faith on me.  I hope and expect that more voters will take a leap of faith on future candidates presenting independent voices thanks to today’s affirmation of ranked-choice voting in Maine.

--Independent CD2 candidate Tiffany Bond