Now that Graham Platner has formally withdrawn from the Maine Senate race, the state’s Democratic Party is scrambling to nominate an alternative candidate to run against Senator Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent.
Mr. Platner’s exit, after a rape accusation that he denies, leaves his party with a little more than two weeks to find a replacement for a key race in the battle for the Senate.
Here’s what to know about the competition to replace Mr. Platner.
When will Democrats choose a nominee?
The state party will hold a nominating convention on Saturday, July 25, in Bangor. Democrats are facing a July 27 state deadline to pick a new candidate, giving the contenders little time to make their case.
Who is running?
So far, a crowded field has formed and includes:
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Troy Jackson, a progressive who campaigned alongside Mr. Platner and was the president of the State Senate from 2018 to 2024. Mr. Jackson ran for governor this year, coming in third in the ranked-choice primary last month.
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Nirav Shah, the former director of Maine’s public health agency. Dr. Shah also ran for governor and came in second under the ranked-choice system, despite winning the most first-place votes.
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Shenna Bellows, Maine’s secretary of state. Ms. Bellows is a progressive who made national news in 2023 when she fought to try to keep President Trump off Maine’s presidential primary ballot because of his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. She also ran for governor.
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Jordan Wood, a former chief of staff to former Representative Katie Porter of California. Mr. Wood originally ran in the Democratic Senate primary, before joining the primary to replace Representative Jared Golden in Maine’s Second Congressional District, coming in third.
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Paige Loud, a 29-year-old social worker. She also ran in the competitive primary to replace Mr. Golden in the Second Congressional District, where she came in last.
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Dan Kleban, a brewery owner with a Substack newsletter. Mr. Kleban briefly ran in this year’s primary for Senate but ended up withdrawing.
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David Costello, an environmental policy consultant and a Bangor native. Mr. Costello ran in the Democratic primary for Senate in June, winning 8 percent of the vote.
To qualify, candidates must declare their intent to run by deadline on Wednesday and submit 500 signatures — including at least 50 from eight different counties — by July 21. They also need to turn in written statements detailing “how their campaign will continue to support and build on the currently existing grass-roots energy and movement in Maine,” the state party has said.
Who will pick the nominee?
Overall 601 delegates will attend the July 25 convention — a group made up of 101 members of a state Democratic Party committee and 500 others who will be chosen at the county level.
Before the convention, Democratic committees from Maine’s 16 counties will meet to determine whom they will send as delegates.
The specific manner in which they will be selected at the county level remained unclear on Saturday. “All Democrats registered in the County as of June 9, 2026, are eligible to participate and vote in their county’s Delegate Nominating Meeting,” the rules released by the state party say.
Carl Wilcox, the chair of the Androscoggin County Democrats, said the delegate selection process had still not been “firmed up” as of Saturday morning.
But, he said in an interview, the unexpectedly large number of people who were seeking to become delegates was already creating a problem.
“We’re going to have anybody who signs up for this form online, which is an extremely low bar of entry,” he said. “Which is OK. But then how do you select out of this crowd of 400 people that want to be a delegate?”
How will the voting at the July 25 convention work?
The delegates will vote until a candidate secures majority support. At the end of the first round, the top five finishers will advance, and from there, the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated after each subsequent round. The process will continue until there is a winner.
Ms. Collins, addressing reporters on Saturday, declined to weigh in on the Democrats’ process.
“It’s really not my call,” Ms. Collins said at a parade in Lisbon, Maine, celebrating a New England soda called Moxie. “It’s up to the Democrats to decide how they’re going to handle the process of coming up with a replacement for Graham Platner. I’m not a Democrat. I’m not involved. No one’s consulting with me.”
Bayliss Wagner and Reid J. Epstein contributed reporting.
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