Thousands of students across 138 Maine schools voted in a mock election on Tuesday, with former President Donald Trump beating Vice President Kamala Harris by a large margin.
Trump handsomely won with 52 percent of the vote, compared to just 40 percent going to Harris, the Portland Press Herald reported.
Independent candidate Cornel West received two percent, Green Party candidate Jill Stein got 1.9 percent, and Libertarian Chase Oliver got 1.8 percent.
While not necessarily an indicator of how their parents are voting, Maine students have had a “remarkable track record” with their mock elections, correctly choosing the winning presidential candidate in each election since 2008, according to the outlet.
Notably, many of the students who voted for Trump split the ticket when voting in the mock election for the U.S. Senate and House, with incumbent Sen. Angus King (I) earning 43.3 percent of the vote compared to Republican challenger Demi Kouzounas’s 23.9 percent.
Independent Jason Cherry also received 16.3 percent, and Democrat David Costello got the lowest share of the mock votes cast for Senate with just 14.9 percent, according to the Press Herald.
Meanwhile, incumbent Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) of Maine’s First Congressional District won the students’ favor with 40.9 percent of the vote, while Republican challenger Ron Russell got 38.6 percent and Independent Ethan Alcorn got 19.4 percent.
The students also voted to reelect Rep. Jared Golden (D) over Republican Austin Theriault with a tight outcome — 49.3 percent to 48.8 percent.
While it is not immediately clear how many students participated, the outlet reported that 19,530 students cast mock votes during the 2022 midterm elections.
“Hands-on learning through a mock election is a great way to teach young Mainers about our electoral process, government and the importance of making their voices heard at the ballot box,” Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) said in a Monday statement, the day before the mock election was held. “Broad civics education is an important building block for the rest of their lives.”
