County party chairs inundated with calls. An endless stream of Google sign-up forms and spreadsheets. And a disgraced former nominee looming over it all, haunting the party’s hopes of starting anew. The implosion of Graham Platner’s campaign after he was accused of rape – an allegation he denies – left Maine Democrats scrambling to create a highly unorthodox process that reflects the high stakes for the battle to win control of the Senate.

Maine Democrats are now building from scratch a candidate selection process in a race that could decide who controls the United States Senate.

The Maine Democrats running to replace Graham Platner as their party’s nominee for Senate are seeking to turn the page from the former standard-bearer without abandoning his…