Maine progressives hold edge in race to replace Graham Platner

Maine Democrats Select Delegates for Senate Nomination Convention After Platner Withdrawal

County-level delegate elections scheduled for July 18 and 19 will determine the 601 delegates who vote at the July 25 convention in Bangor to choose the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.

In the June primary, Graham Platner received 71 percent of the vote on a platform that included campaign finance changes, expanded healthcare access, adjustments to immigration enforcement, and limits on certain tax provisions. He had received endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Platner withdrew from the race after an allegation of sexual assault made by a former girlfriend, Jenny Racicot. Earlier reporting had also noted a Totenkopf tattoo on Platner and questions about his prior employment with a security contractor linked to Blackwater, as well as statements from former partners describing certain conduct.

With the primary winner removed, the 16 county Democratic parties are electing slates of delegates who will select the nominee at the convention. This process differs from the primary in that participation is limited to voters registered as Democrats by June 9. Campaigns are therefore concentrating on turnout at the county delegate elections rather than broad advertising or rallies.

Candidates who have announced interest or received organized support include Troy Jackson, former president of the Maine Senate; Shenna Bellows, Maine secretary of state; Jordan Wood, former chief of staff to Rep. Katie Porter; brewery owner Dan Kleban; and environmental policy consultant David Costello. No public polling of delegate preferences has been released.

Campaigns are using phone banking, digital outreach, and existing political networks to identify and elect supportive delegates. The Jackson campaign has published lists of delegate candidates pledged to support him in multiple counties. Our Revolution, an organization formed after Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign, has directed organizing resources toward Jackson’s effort. The Shah campaign has contacted former Platner supporters privately while stating publicly that they remain welcome, according to Politico reporting. Other campaigns have not released comparable delegate slates.

Kiernan Majerus-Collins, a delegate candidate in Androscoggin County who is also running for a state House seat, stated that candidates with prior relationships among county party members hold an organizational advantage. He noted that Jackson and Bellows have the longest records in Maine Democratic politics. Majerus-Collins also observed that many delegate candidates are running on general statements about defeating Sen. Susan Collins rather than explicit commitments to a particular nominee, and that some delegates intend to exercise independent judgment at the convention. Androscoggin County alone has 188 candidates for 31 delegate positions.

John “Jak” Raymond, a delegate candidate in Hancock County, described the delegate electorate as narrower than the primary electorate because it excludes unaffiliated voters who participated under Maine’s semi-open primary rules. He said Jackson’s legislative experience and platform alignment with Platner’s positions give him the strongest position for retaining support from the primary coalition.

The convention will select the nominee by vote of the elected delegates. No further public surveys of those delegates have been conducted as of July 18.