Maine Democrats Eyeing Late July Convention to Pick Platner Replacement

Summary

Maine Democrats are eyeing a late July convention for selecting a new Senate nominee to replace Graham Platner, who recently suspended his campaign under widespread pressure from party leaders and allies to bow out. The Democrats are currently planning to hold county meetings to choose delegates next weekend and a state convention the weekend after that to pick a replacement for Mr. Platner after his campaign imploded this week . The emerging plans, described by five people familiar with them, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private talks, have yet to be finalized or announced by the Maine Democratic Party and are subject to change. Officials in the state are trying to create a process to choose a Platner replacement by a July 27 deadline, a herculean task for a small state party. This would put a premium on organization from each of the state’s new Senate campaigns and could lead to many hours of speeches and voting in each county. Collins is the only Senate Republican facing re-election this year in a state President Trump lost in 2024. Democrats must flip at least four Republican-held Senate seats in this year’s midterm elections to take a majority in the chamber. They include Nirav Shah, a former public health official; Troy Jackson, a former president of the Maine Senate; Shenna Bellows, the Maine secretary of state; Jordan Wood, a former congressional staff member; Dan Kleban, a founder of a brewery; and Paige Loud, a social worker. Kleban is relatively new to politics but briefly joined the Democratic Senate primary race last year before dropping out.