Bagshaw Seeks Recount After 139-Vote Loss
Maine state representative requests a recount after losing her reelection bid by 139 votes to Bradley Youngs.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Elections
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Rep. Barbara Bagshaw (R-Windham) has requested a recount after losing her reelection bid by 139 votes, with Bradley Youngs receiving 2,637 votes to her 2,498. Recount requests are due by Nov. 10.
Why it matters
The request places a close Maine State House race into a formal recount process that can confirm or alter the outcome. Bagshaw's separate claims about same-day voter registration in Windham have drawn attention to how election-day voter verification is handled.
Bagshaw won 2,498 votes to Youngs' 2,637, a 139-vote gap that triggered her recount request. The recount outcome remains unknown, and the source does not indicate whether Bagshaw's recount request has been formally accepted.
The players
Barbara Bagshaw
Republican member of the Maine State House representing Windham, who requested the recount after losing her reelection bid.
Bradley Youngs
Candidate who won the Maine State House race against Bagshaw by 139 votes.
Anthony Blasi
Windham Town Clerk who said the town did not see an unusual volume of voter registrations for a statewide election.
The details
Bagshaw, who has represented Windham in the Maine State House since 2022, said during a Nov. 6 appearance on the "Voice of Maine" radio show that same-day voter registration lines in Windham were filled with people she described as "foreign-looking." She said she had asked the Department of Homeland Security to run everyone who voted that day through the SAVE database, which is intended to screen for noncitizen voters and has been criticized for falsely flagging U.S. citizens. Windham Town Clerk Anthony Blasi said the town did not see an unusual volume of voter registrations for a statewide election.
Timeline
Jan. 6, 2021: Bagshaw attended the "Stop the Steal" rally in Washington, D.C.
2022: Bagshaw began representing Windham in the Maine State House.
Nov. 6, 2026: Bagshaw made her voter-registration claims on Voice of Maine radio.
Nov. 10, 2026: Deadline for all recount requests to be submitted.
Political Context
Bagshaw's request to run election-day voters through the SAVE database runs against documented criticism that the system has falsely flagged U.S. citizens as potential noncitizen voters. Opposition to using the database in this manner centers on that record of false positives.
Voters in Windham and the surrounding district are affected because the outcome of the Maine State House race may change if a recount is completed. Residents who vote in future elections may see closer attention paid to how voter registrations are verified.
The takeaway
Close elections can hinge on formal procedures like recounts, and voters can follow official deadlines and certified results from state and town election offices to track the outcome.
What happens next
Recount requests must be submitted by Nov. 10, 2026.
Further reading
Explore more coverage in Maine Elections.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Portland Press Herald.
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