Final Election Predictions 2026

On the final Pine Tree Pulse Podcast before the election, Matt, Garrick, Montana and Emily make our bold (or not so bold) predictions about what we think is going to happen next Tuesday, from the US Senate race between Susan Collins and Troy Jackson, to the gubernatorial race, the 2nd Congressional district and more.

To make some of the predictions, we take a look at the recent polling in each of these races, to the degree it can be trusted, including a shock poll from Marist this week that showed the gubernatorial race tied. Is Governor Bobby Charles a real possibility, or is this poll an unreliable outlier? We discuss.

We also tackle the scandal brewing out of Alaska, where the Democratic campaign is being accused — by the New York Times! — of engaging in unethical campaign tactics, in having actively recruited another candidate with the same name as incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, into the race. She had previously denied any involvement, but the cat is out of the bag now.

Finally, we touch on the recent announcement of indictments in the ongoing Medicaid fraud scandal here in Maine, and we wonder whether it will have an impact on anyone’s vote in 2026.

All this and more, this week on the Pulse.