Maine Democrats approve 600-person convention to pick Graham Platner's replacement (Michael Shepherd, BDN)

[eShirl]

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/07/08/politics/elections/maine-democrats-want-convention-replace-graham-platner/

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.”
...

[GPV]

1. I'm glad it's a larger pool of people.

[MichMan]

2. No ordinary voters?

The caucus proposal would have allowed ordinary citizens to make the selection.

[Easterncedar]

3. Your point? They are bringing in 500 Democrats in Maine

They ARE "ordinary voters."

[MichMan]

4. I'm expecting those chosen to have party connections, big donors, or as current elected officials

Could be wrong, I don't live in Maine, so they can do as they like.

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.

[Easterncedar]

5. Party members, sure

But most of the folks I know who caucus are street-level modestly active democrats.

Really. Maine is a small state.

[MichMan]

6. A true caucus allows many people from all walks of life to participate; it isn't limited to a select group.

Why not a statewide caucus where anyone can attend and vote?

Remember the last time a candidate chosen by primary voters decided to withdraw before the election? Kamala Harris was chosen by party delegates. We all know how that turned out.

I've seen many comments here since that election that primary voters were shut out of the process, and a true mini primary might have produced a different result. Seems like this is going down that same path.

[33taw]

8. The timeline to select a replacement and get them placed on the fall ballot is small and arranging a statewide caucus

takes time, multiple venues and significant prep time. I am glad they are bringing in 500 delegates from all of the local to help with the selection process.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

13. Exactly, Sioux Falls is going through that predicament right now in mayor's race...

... NOT ENOUGH TIME FOR THE DEJOY VERSION OF THE USPS to get the ballots mailed out, collected, processed and into the county(Minnehaha) court house by the 7 pm deadline. If ballots arrive after 7 pm they won't be counted. 150 absentee ballots they refuse to count because USPS delivered them after 7 pm election day. It was a 4 vote difference in the mayors election, so recount kicked in.

"The three-member recount board spent all day Wednesday examining ballots and having votes counted. Absentee ballots have been reviewed. Incomplete results showed the June 26 certified winner Erickson, with a four-vote lead over Smith. Erickson has 18,283 votes to Jamie Smith’s 18,279.

Two votes separated Erickson and Smith after the June 23 runoff election. Erickson was certified as the winner on June 26.
Erickson, Smith react to first day of recount

The city clerk’s office said in a Monday news release that the recount was expected to take longer than the 10 hours required for the 2020 recount in a city council race.

The two candidates had advanced to the June 23 runoff election from the June 3 election, in which no candidate received 50% of the required votes to win."

https://www.keloland.com/keloland-com-original/mayors-race-recount-continues-thursday/

[ShazzieB]

11. Nobody wants a repeat of what happened in 2024, but I think this situation is a lot different.

Maine is just one, largely rural state with a population of less than 1.5 million, and the people whose names end up on the November ballot will be running to represent the people of Maine in the US Senate. That's a very different dynamic from a nationwide presidential election.

I know we feel like we all have a stake in this (and we do), but at the end of the day, this is up to Maine, and Maine Democrats have the right to handle this as they see fit, whether the rest of us agree or not. Frustrating as that may be, it is what it is.

We also don't know yet know all the details of how this is going to work. As Party leaders have said, "the full timeline, details for how the nomination process will move forward, information about how to participate, and requirements for candidates" will be released soon. I suggest we wait for more information before we panic, and thst we not assume this is going to be a repeat of the 2024 presidential election.

[SamuelAdams]

12. There are only 18 days until we need a nominee.

They had lawyers look at the logistics of all options, including a full primary. People serving as a mayor of a small town or on a town council are not elites. The 500 people will mostly be ordinary Mainers with normal 9-5 jobs. This isn't NY where the 500 would be the Congressional delegation and Wall St. executives.

[Jughead]

7. Collins

She’s gonna win her seat again like Trump did. It’s Biden Harris all over again. As a Democrat I’m totally embarrassed at how the DNC is run.

[33taw]

9. This is not a DNC decision. This is a decision by the state party.

[reACTIONary]

10. I doubt Planter would have been....

.... the first choice of the DNC. If the DNC had more sway, we wouldn't be in this situation.

Is that your point? That the DNC should have had more influence? Or do you believe the DNC somehow supported Platner and put us into this situation?

[sop]

14. "Depending on what course the state party follows, the expedited nomination process could allow the party

to place its weight behind candidates with certain ideological backgrounds. It would likely be a mistake to try to nudge the process in favor of a tepid centrist. Platner rose from obscurity as a total outsider and won the support of 72% of Democratic primary voters on a boldly progressive platform that called for working class dignity, Medicare for All, a billionaire wealth tax and ending Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The potential replacement nominees should at least broadly reflect Platner’s sensibilities, or they risk discouraging and angering Democratic voters."

MS NOW: 'Why Democrats might be able to salvage the race after Platner’s collapse'

https://www.ms.now/opinion/graham-platner-replacement-maine-senate-democrats

I have a difficult time seeing the Maine Democratic Party state committee choosing someone who espouses the same policy positions that won Platner overwhelming support from primary voters. They'll likely choose a slightly-left-of-center candidate who feels "safe" to everyone.

[PatrickforB]

15. Now they're talking! A convention. The right approach to pick a candidate who can hopefully win. n/t