The Maine Democratic Party unveiled its plan to replace Graham Platner, the Senate nominee who withdrew from his race after a woman accused him of sexual assault. The replacement process is scheduled to happen at a remarkably fast pace — within just three weeks of Mr. Platner’s withdrawal.
If all goes to plan, the eventual Democratic nominee will have just under 100 days to campaign against Senator Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent, in what is expected to be one of the most competitive Senate races of the midterms.
Replacing a Senate candidate is rare, and procedures vary by state and by timing. Here is how the Maine Democratic Party plans to pick Mr. Platner’s replacement.
July 15: Candidacy deadline
Twelve Democrats have declared themselves candidates. Nine who had submitted their intent to run by Tuesday were invited to a debate hosted by News Center Maine on Thursday.
At the debate, the candidates tried to embrace Mr. Platner’s grass-roots energy while not condoning his behavior, and they assailed Ms. Collins for siding with President Trump on various issues. They also spent much of the debate denouncing the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Maine, in light of the fatal shooting in Biddeford on Monday.
July 18-19: County meetings
Each of Maine’s 16 counties will host a meeting this weekend, either in person or virtually, to select a total of 500 delegates to attend the state convention on July 25. The delegates will not be pledged to a particular candidate, but many delegate candidates have made their preferences known.
Thousands of Mainers have registered as a candidate to be one of the delegates or as a participant in these meetings.
Each county will select an allotted number of delegates based on the number of Democratic votes in the 2024 presidential election in that county. Cumberland County, which includes Portland, the most populous city in Maine, will elect the most delegates.
The Maine Democratic Party will send another 101 delegates from its state committee.
Cumberland County: 149 delegates
Democratic State Committee: 101
July 20: Signature deadline
Senate candidates must gather at least 500 signatures. They need to have at least 50 signatures from at least eight different counties.
July 23: Debate
Two days before the state convention, CNN and The Bangor Daily News will host a two-hour debate. There will be a live audience that will include some county delegates.
July 25: State convention
Delegates will gather at the convention in Bangor to vote for the nominee to replace Mr. Platner.
Voting will happen in rounds until one candidate reaches a majority. Here’s how that voting process could work.
The Maine Democratic Party must submit the nominee’s name to Shenna Bellows, Maine’s secretary of state, by July 27. Ms. Bellows is also one of the candidates to replace Mr. Platner.
