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Final vote recounts confirm Democratic majorities in Maine's Legislature

A pedestrian walks by the Maine State House, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, in Augusta, Maine.
Robert F. Bukaty
/
AP
A pedestrian walks by the Maine State House, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, in Augusta, Maine.

The makeup of the Maine Legislature is now set following the final two recounts of legislative races by state election officials.

The Secretary of State completed the hand recounts on Tuesday in Augusta.

The process confirmed that Republican Barbara Bragshaw has defeated Democrat Dana Reed for the House seat covering part of Windham, while Democrat Kathleen Shaw defeated Republican James Sorcek for the district representing part of Auburn.

Both Bragshaw and Shaw led their contests on Election Day, according to unofficial results.

The final tallies mean that Democrats will have 82 seats to Republicans' 67 in the Maine House. There are also two representatives who are not enrolled in either party.

Democrats will also have a 22-13 advantage in the Maine Senate.

The party has held a trifecta in state government ever since Democrat Gov. Janet Mills was first elected in 2018.

Journalist Steve Mistler is Maine Public’s chief politics and government correspondent. He is based at the State House.