The race to determine who will replace Graham Platner as Maine’s Democratic Senate nominee is beginning to take shape, after a stream of candidates stormed the race to take his place on the ballot.Former state senator Troy Jackson, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Nirav Shah, former Capitol Hill staffer Jordan Wood, former congressional candidate Paige Loud, and Maine Beer Company founder Dan Kleban are six candidates who have declared their intention to run so far. Candidates to replace Platner must formally declare their campaign to do so by Wednesday, July 15, at 5 p.m. Then, they will take part in a whirlwind convention held by the Maine Democratic Party to select the new nominee. The party has until July 27 at 5 p.m. to formally submit Platner’s replacement.Loud and Wood competed against each other in the Democratic primary in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District this year. Both lost, with Loud coming in last, and Wood narrowly being defeated in the second round of voting.
Jackson, Shah, and Bellows all ran for governor this year, but lost the Democratic Party’s nomination to former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree. Shah received the most first-choice votes but lost to Pingree after Jackson, Bellows, and Pingree formed a three-candidate ranked-choice coalition, which brought her down through Maine’s ranked-choice voting system.Are any candidates campaigning yet?