Mainers deserve more than a hand-picked replacement whose morality only kicked in
When a Senate nominee's campaign collapsed under the weight of serious allegations, Maine Democrats found themselves with less than three weeks to choose a new standard-bearer against one of the Republican Party's most durable incumbents. Seven candidates — ranging from seasoned officeholders to political newcomers — have stepped forward to claim the opening, each carrying a different vision of what it means to challenge Susan Collins in November. The moment distills a recurring tension in democratic politics: the gap between the orderly processes parties design and the messy, urgent human realities that can upend them overnight.
- Graham Platner's campaign collapsed almost instantly after sexual assault allegations emerged, leaving Maine Democrats without a nominee just weeks after he had won the primary with 72 percent of the vote.
- Seven candidates are now competing in a compressed, party-controlled selection process with a hard deadline of July 27 — a race within a race, conducted largely outside public view.
- The field spans a wide spectrum: a former Secretary of State with a prior Collins matchup on her résumé, a self-described 'pickup truck progressive' backed by Bernie Sanders, a public health official who steered Maine through COVID-19, and a 29-year-old social worker who entered before Platner even officially quit.
- The youngest candidate, Paige Loud, has already drawn a sharp line — accusing rivals of moral opportunism and arguing that Mainers deserve more than a replacement chosen by party insiders.
- With prominent figures like Rep. Jared Golden and Patrick Dempsey declining to run, the race is wide open, and the party has yet to reveal exactly how it will make its choice.
Graham Platner's Senate campaign ended almost as quickly as it had peaked. Weeks after winning Maine's Democratic primary with more than 72 percent of the vote, he suspended his campaign following a sexual assault allegation he denied — leaving the state party scrambling to name a replacement by July 27 to face Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November.
The vacuum drew a crowded field. Shenna Bellows, Maine's Secretary of State, moved first. At 51, she had already lost the gubernatorial primary this year and had faced Collins once before, in 2014, losing by nearly 37 points. She brought name recognition, a record in the state Senate, and years leading the Maine ACLU. Former state Senate President Troy Jackson, 58, from the logging town of Allagash, filed an exploratory committee and positioned himself as the progressive heir to Platner's outsider energy — a self-styled 'pickup truck progressive' with Bernie Sanders' backing and about $1 million raised during his gubernatorial run.
Nirav Shah, who had finished second in the gubernatorial primary, also entered. The former Maine CDC director and Biden-era federal health official framed his candidacy around healthcare, housing, and resistance to what he called Trump administration overreach. Dan Kleban, co-founder of the Maine Beer Company, returned to Senate politics after suspending an earlier bid. Jordan Wood, 36, a former chief of staff to Rep. Katie Porter who had raised more than $5 million in a House race, pivoted to the Senate contest. State Rep. Valli Geiger and 29-year-old social worker Paige Loud rounded out the field.
Loud's entry carried the sharpest edge. She wrote publicly that Mainers deserved more than a 'hand-picked replacement whose morality only kicked in at the last minute' — a pointed critique of rivals who had called for Platner's withdrawal only after the allegations became public. Meanwhile, Rep. Jared Golden and actor Patrick Dempsey both declined to run, leaving the field to those willing to campaign hard in a process whose rules the party had yet to fully disclose.
Graham Platner's suspension of his Senate campaign in early July left Maine Democrats in a scramble. A woman had accused him of sexual assault—allegations he denied—but the damage to his candidacy was immediate and irreversible. Within days, the state party announced it would select a replacement nominee by July 27 at 5 p.m., setting off what amounted to a compressed primary among a growing field of ambitious politicians and newcomers, all eyeing a chance to challenge Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November.
The vacuum Platner left behind was substantial. He had won the Democratic primary decisively just weeks earlier with 72.1 percent of the vote, far ahead of Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who had suspended her campaign but remained on the ballot. His appeal had been rooted in an outsider's energy—he was new to electoral politics, and he had built momentum around a message of challenging the status quo. Now that momentum belonged to whoever could claim his mantle.
Shenna Bellows, Maine's Secretary of State, moved fastest. At 51, she had already run for governor this year and lost in the primary to Hannah Pingree. But she had a Senate pedigree: in 2014, she had won the Democratic nomination to face Collins, only to lose by nearly 37 percentage points in the general election. She had also served in the state Senate and led the Maine chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. In her gubernatorial campaign, she had raised just under $1.8 million and advocated for affordable housing and a statewide freeze on property tax increases for non-resident homes. Now, on social media, she framed her entry into the Senate race as a continuation of fights she had been waging all along.
Others moved quickly too. David Costello, a former government official from Bangor who had run against Platner in the primary and captured 8.1 percent of the vote, announced he was back in the race. Troy Jackson, the former state Senate President from the logging town of Allagash, filed an exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission and told the Bangor Daily News he was the best person to replace Platner. Jackson, 58, had been active in Maine politics since 2002 and had run for governor this year with backing from Bernie Sanders, raising around $1 million. He had positioned himself as a progressive focused on affordable housing and lowering property taxes, calling himself a "pickup truck progressive." Jackson had also worked on Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, a connection that had given him credibility among the party's left wing.
Nirav Shah, who had finished second in the gubernatorial primary, also threw his name forward. Shah, 49, had served as Maine's CDC director starting in 2019, navigating the COVID-19 pandemic and overseeing a fast vaccine rollout. He later became principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the Biden administration. A Wisconsin native with law and medical degrees from the University of Chicago, Shah had raised more than $1 million during his gubernatorial bid and had built his platform around housing, healthcare, and fighting what he called the Trump administration's overreaches. When he announced his Senate bid, he told CBS News that Maine Democrats were "feeling a thousand emotions all at once" but that the overriding emotion was "eagerness and commitment to defeating Susan Collins in the fall."
Dan Kleban, a co-founder of the Maine Beer Company, also entered the race. At 49, he had briefly run for Senate the previous year before suspending his campaign in October and endorsing Mills. His original campaign had centered on Maine's economy, affordability, and environmental issues. During that run, he had given himself nearly $215,000 and raised another $244,000 from donors. Jordan Wood, a 36-year-old from Lewiston who had previously sought the Senate seat before pivoting to run for a House seat, also announced his candidacy. Wood had worked as chief of staff to Democratic Rep. Katie Porter and had founded an organization focused on combating election denialism. During his House bid, he had raised more than $5 million from donors and lent $400,000 to his own campaign.
State Rep. Valli Geiger, a 70-year-old nurse from Rockland who had served three terms in the state Legislature, also indicated interest in replacing Platner. And Paige Loud, a 29-year-old social worker, filed to run shortly before Platner ended his campaign. Loud had run in the Democratic House primary for Maine's 2nd Congressional District the previous month, finishing fourth with 10.4 percent of the vote. She had contributed around $30,000 to her own campaign and raised about $17,000.
Several prominent Democrats declined to run. Rep. Jared Golden and actor Patrick Dempsey both made clear they were not interested. Most of the candidates who did enter the race had called on Platner to withdraw after the allegations emerged, framing the moment as one of moral clarity. But Loud's entry came with a sharper critique: she wrote on social media that "Mainers deserve more than a hand-picked replacement whose morality only kicked in at the last minute." The party's selection process remained opaque—details were promised but not yet public—leaving the field to campaign and position themselves over the next two and a half weeks.
Citas Notables
Mainers deserve a Senator who will fight for them against the DC establishment while also doing what's right— Dan Kleban
The one I would say is overriding is the eagerness and the commitment to defeating Susan Collins in the fall— Nirav Shah, on Maine Democrats' emotions following Platner's withdrawal
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did so many people jump in at once? Couldn't they have waited to see who the party preferred?
The math was simple: whoever the party picked would be the Democratic nominee facing Collins in a general election. That's not a consolation prize. These were people who had already invested in Maine politics—money, time, relationships. The window was only two and a half weeks. You either moved fast or you didn't move at all.
But some of them had just lost primaries. Bellows lost the governor's race. Shah came in second. Weren't they damaged goods?
Not necessarily. Bellows had run for Senate before and built name recognition. Shah had come close in a statewide race and had a national profile from his CDC work. In a compressed timeline, that mattered more than the fact that they'd lost a primary weeks earlier.
What was the real divide among these candidates? Were they all saying the same things?
They were all anti-Collins and pro-working people, sure. But there were real differences. Jackson and Shah positioned themselves as outsiders taking on the establishment. Bellows was the establishment—she'd been in the state Senate, run before. Kleban and Wood were also outsiders, but they came from business and advocacy rather than electoral politics. Loud was the youngest and the sharpest critic of the party's process itself.
Did any of them have a clear advantage?
Bellows had name recognition and a track record. Jackson had Sanders' backing and deep roots in progressive Maine. Shah had the national profile and the medical credentials that mattered during COVID. But the party's selection process was a black box. Nobody really knew what criteria they'd use or how much weight they'd give to fundraising, electability, or ideology.
What did Shah mean when he said Maine Democrats were feeling "a thousand emotions"?
He was being diplomatic. There was anger at Platner for the allegations, disappointment that their frontrunner had imploded, and anxiety about whether they could still beat Collins. But underneath all that was hunger—the sense that Collins was beatable and that whoever got the nomination had a real shot.