The Maine Democratic Party’s accelerated effort to replace former U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner is drawing intense interest from party activists across the state, with more than 5,500 people applying to participate as delegates or voters in the nomination process that will ultimately narrow to just 601 delegates selecting the party’s nominee.
The surge in participation comes as Democrats work against a tight legal deadline after Platner withdrew from the race. State law requires the party to nominate a replacement by July 27, prompting party leaders to schedule a special nominating convention for Saturday, July 25, in Bangor.
Under the process adopted by the Maine Democratic Party, county nominating meetings will be held across all 16 counties on July 18 and 19, where Democrats will elect 500 convention delegates. Those delegates will join 101 members of the Democratic State Committee, creating the 601-member body that will vote to choose the party’s nominee to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins this November. Democrats registered as of June 9 are eligible to participate in the county meetings.
The more than 5,500 applications underscore the extraordinary level of interest surrounding one of the most unusual nomination processes in modern Maine political history. Rather than holding another statewide primary, a relatively small group of delegates will determine who appears on the November ballot following Platner’s withdrawal.
Eight Candidates to Meet in Statewide Debate
Attention now turns to Thursday night’s televised “Voice of the Voter” debate, where Democrats seeking the nomination will make their case just days before delegates are elected.
Initially expected to feature only a limited number of candidates, NEWS CENTER Maine announced it will instead include all of the Democrats who have formally declared their candidacies, ensuring every declared candidate has an opportunity to address voters and prospective delegates before county meetings begin.
The 90-minute debate begins at 7 p.m. Thursday and will air statewide on WCSH 6 and WLBZ 2 while also streaming on NEWS CENTER Maine’s digital platforms.
The candidates scheduled to participate are:
- Shenna Bellows, Maine Secretary of State
- David Costello, attorney and former U.S. Senate candidate
- Elizabeth Dickerson, attorney
- Troy Jackson, former President of the Maine Senate
- Dan Kleban, co-founder of Maine Beer Company
- Paige Loud, social worker and former congressional candidate
- Nirav Shah, former Maine CDC director and former CDC principal deputy director
- Jordan Wood, former Democratic congressional candidate
The debate is expected to be one of the final opportunities for candidates to distinguish themselves before Democrats gather in county meetings to elect convention delegates.
A Compressed Campaign
The nomination process has unfolded at an unusually rapid pace after Platner ended his Senate campaign amid allegations of sexual misconduct, which he has denied. His withdrawal forced Democrats to abandon the traditional primary process and instead rely on a convention to select a replacement nominee before the state’s statutory deadline.
Once county delegates are selected this weekend, attention will quickly shift to Bangor, where the July 25 convention will determine who carries the Democratic banner into one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races.
With the general election less than four months away, the nominee emerging from the convention will have little time to unite Democrats, introduce themselves to voters statewide, and mount a campaign against Collins in a race expected to draw national attention and millions of dollars in outside spending.
