Maine Democrats are racing against the calendar as they try to identify a new Senate candidate after Graham Platner suspended his campaign amid an escalating controversy over sexual assault allegations.
Platner formally ended his bid Friday evening, just ahead of the Monday cutoff for withdrawing from the race, intensifying the pressure before the July 27 deadline for Democrats to name a nominee to take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
That timetable would give the eventual Democratic nominee only 100 days before November to regroup and mount a general-election campaign — an even tighter window than Kamala Harris’ 107-day run two years ago.
“He’s gonna wait till the last minute and just exit with very little class,” Democratic strategist Mike Nellis said, adding that Platner would become “a footnote in America’s long history of scumbag people running for office.”
Among the most prominent names being discussed as possible replacements are Troy Jackson, Nirav Shah and Shenna Bellows. Roughly 600 convention delegates are expected to gather to select the party’s nominee.
Maine Democrats use a convention process that brings delegates from around the state together to officially choose a nominee. Those delegates are selected through local party mechanisms and state party involvement, then meet to deliberate, vote and settle on the party’s choice.
The convention format gives party activists a direct voice in the decision while also allowing contenders to court support from grassroots members, officeholders and Democratic groups across Maine.
Jackson, a former president of the Maine Senate and a veteran state lawmaker, is seen as a strong option for progressive and labor-aligned Democrats, thanks to his populist approach and deep connections with working-class voters.
Former Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner announced he was dropping out of the race on Wednesday, but has not yet formally filed the withdrawal paperwork with the Maine Secretary of State
On Wednesday, Troy Jackson’s campaign received an endorsement from Senator Bernie Sanders’ progressive political group Our Revolution
The July 27 deadline to choose Maine’s Democratic Senate nominee would leave the candidate with just 100 days before the November election—shorter than the 107-day campaign run by former Vice President Kamala Harris
Jackson’s campaign also received a boost on Wednesday when the progressive political group Our Revolution, founded by Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders threw its support behind him.
Shah, the former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, brings statewide name recognition and a more moderate profile rooted in public service and health policy.
Bellows, Maine’s secretary of state, would offer extensive statewide political experience and an established Democratic network.
Other candidates include Dan Kleban, a businessman and former candidate who could appeal to voters looking for an outsider with a business background; Jordan Wood, a former congressional staffer running as a younger progressive voice; and Paige Loud, a social worker and former congressional candidate who represents the party’s grassroots wing.
Under Maine law, the power to choose a replacement rests with the Maine Democratic Party — not with the voters or the primary results.
Two Democratic strategists – Mike Nellis, founder of Authentic Campaigns and a former Harris adviser, and Matt Bennett, co-founder of centrist think tank Third Way – agree the party is in a hole, but split on whether the chaos could become an opportunity.
‘It’s a mess, and everything about it is really unfortunate,’ Nellis said. Yet he believes the collapse could paradoxically help in November: ‘I do think, marginally, our chance to win the Maine Senate race is probably better because of this,’ he said, adding Democrats would rather run a candidate ‘without the baggage that Platner has.’
His worry is what comes next. ‘The risk here, politically, is that you just taint the process,’ he said, warning against candidates chosen in ‘smoke-filled rooms’ while ignoring the energy behind Platner’s insurgent campaign. ‘His movement still deserves to be honored.’
Bennett was blunter about the party’s real problem: ‘The biggest risk is that we nominate somebody who can’t win,’ someone with ‘skeletons in their closet.’
But he argued the scandal created an opening: ‘The opportunity is that Platner was probably on course to lose,’ he said, pointing to the candidate’s personal issues and his fit with Maine’s more moderate electorate.
The two split sharply over Troy Jackson, the former state Senate president now seeking the nomination. ‘Troy’s also an excellent human being,’ Nellis said.
‘Yeah, I hope it’s not him,’ Bennett countered, arguing Jackson’s record on issues like abortion could create problems statewide.
Both agree that the clock is the enemy. The new nominee must raise money, build name recognition and unite the party in weeks. ‘They gotta raise money and they gotta raise it quickly,’ Nellis said. Bennett warned that building ‘enough name identification, and enough of a brand’ in so little time would be brutally hard.
Then there’s Susan Collins herself. ‘Beating Susan Collins has proven impossible,’ Bennett said. Nellis was more bullish: ‘Collins is old and has been in the Senate for 30 years,’ he said, arguing that frustration with Trump could open the door.
Both pointed to Biden’s 2024 withdrawal as proof that a late swap isn’t fatal. ‘We went from an unwinnable election to a competitive election,’ Nellis said.
Bennett was cooler: ‘Sure it’s possible, but Collins is tough to beat.’
