Maine Democrats approve 600-person convention to pick Graham Platner's replacement [View all]

Source: Bangor Daily News

The Maine Democratic Party’s state committee voted Wednesday to hold a nominating convention to select a replacement for U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, according to a party statement and an account of the meeting shared with the Bangor Daily News.

More than 100 state committee members attended the meeting and voted in favor of the convention process, the party said in a statement. The convention would include 500 delegates elected proportionally by county committees, along with the entire state committee, according to the account of the meeting.

The party has not yet released a full timeline or the details of how the nomination process will move forward. The meeting of the party’s governing body was not open to the press. The account of the meeting was written by an attendee and provided to the BDN.

“We will announce the full timeline, details for how the nomination process will move forward, information about how to participate, and requirements for candidates soon,” party Chair Charlie Dingman, Vice Chair Imke Schessler and Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson said in a statement. “We will keep the public informed throughout the process – transparency is of the utmost importance.”

Platner, who is facing U.S. Sen. Susan Collins in one of the biggest races in the country this year, has been at the center of a two-day firestorm following a Monday report in Politico in which an ex-girlfriend accused him of raping her in 2021. The Maine Democratic Party, the national party and candidates here have disavowed him and called on him to leave the race.

The move marks the first time Maine Democrats have used a convention of this scale to replace a statewide nominee. It would be a dramatic event in which a relatively small number of people would decide among a growing list of candidates to pick a last-minute nominee to face Collins.
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Read more: https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/07/08/politics/elections/maine-democrats-want-convention-replace-graham-platner/