Matt Dunlap leads Paul LePage in 2nd District race, UNH poll finds - Portland Press Herald - Maine Sunday Telegram
The poll found LePage trailing Matt Dunlap, though prior forecasters had generally viewed the district as likely Republican.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYThe Portland Press Herald is an established regional news outlet, and the article identifies its author. The story provides poll methodology and attributes the findings to the University of New Hampshire Survey Center.
- Source type — Established regional newspaper with a local-news focus.
- Author attribution — The article names its reporter.
- Editorial standards — The outlet is an established newsroom, though this article does not describe its standards or corrections practices.
The article reports the poll’s sample size, field dates and margin of error, and places the result alongside forecasts and candidate favorability ratings. It offers useful context but includes no direct response from either campaign and relies heavily on polling and projections.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The story gives the poll’s findings for both candidates and includes context from multiple forecasting sources. It does not include direct responses from the campaigns or much detail about the poll’s sponsor and methodology beyond the survey basics.
- Source diversity — The poll, election forecasters and Fox News projections provide several sources of context.
- Counterarguments presented — The article gives context that complicates the poll result, including the district’s prior Republican-leaning outlook.
- Omitted context — Neither candidate’s campaign directly responds to the poll in the article.
The article reports poll results and competing race projections in straightforward language. Its framing does not discernibly favor either party or candidate.
- Language tone — Mostly factual and restrained, with no strongly partisan wording.
- Framing — Presents the poll as a notable result against prior expectations for the district.
- Source selection — Uses a university poll and references election forecasters and Fox News projections.
A University of New Hampshire poll found Matt Dunlap leading Paul LePage 51% to 45% among likely voters in Maine’s 2nd District race. The result contrasts with forecasters’ prior view of the district as likely Republican and Fox News’ recent shift to a toss-up.
The University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll found 51% of likely voters supporting Dunlap, 45% supporting LePage and 5% undecided. It surveyed 627 district voters online from Sept. 17 to 21, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9%. The article says there had been little independent polling of the race since Dunlap won the Democratic primary in June.
The article notes that forecasters had mostly rated the district as likely Republican, while Fox News recently shifted its projection to a toss-up. It also reports that Dunlap had a +5 net favorability rating and LePage a -14 rating in the survey. LePage has Trump’s endorsement; Dunlap is described as running on a fairly progressive platform.
Community verdict
VOTING CLOSEDNo good or bad look here
This story reports what happened without casting Lepage in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward Lepage’s record.
People in this story
SWIPE →Democratic candidate in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District race
Dunlap's version of this story ↗President, whose endorsement and political standing are discussed as context for the race
U.S. representative not seeking another term
U.S. representative from New York
Governor of Maine
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