Maine Democrats Warn Schumer to Stay Out of 1 Key Senate Race

Q: After a nominee’s sudden exit, can a replacement be chosen in two weeks to challenge a five-term incumbent?

Yes. Maine Democrats can choose a replacement in roughly two weeks, and they have already set a compressed process to do it. After Graham Platner’s withdrawal, the party moved to a special nomination process that ends before the state’s July 27 deadline for naming a new Senate nominee. Candidates must declare by July 15 and submit 500 signatures from registered Democrats by July 21. County meetings on July 18 and 19 will elect 500 delegates, who will join 101 state committee members at a July 25 nominating convention in Bangor. At that convention, 601 delegates will vote in multiple rounds until one candidate wins a majority. Party officials say the process is being built quickly because there is not enough time for a new statewide primary, but they argue it can still produce a legitimate nominee in time for the November ballot. So the practical answer is yes: the replacement can be chosen on that timetable, even if it is unusually fast. The larger challenge is not the mechanics of selection but the politics of the race. The eventual nominee will have only a short runway to organize, raise money and introduce themselves statewide before facing Sen. Susan Collins, a five-term incumbent with a long record of winning difficult races in Maine.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 13

Maine Democrats are telling Chuck Schumer not to influence how the party replaces Graham Platner in a pivotal Senate contest against Republican Susan Collins.
Platner ended his campaign after a rape allegation he denies, reopening the nomination fight in one of Democrats’ most important pickup opportunities.
The resistance follows an earlier rebuke of Schumer’s preferred candidate, Gov. Janet Mills, who left the race weeks before Primary Day after Platner’s insurgent campaign gained traction.
Maine’s pushback matters beyond one state race because Collins is a five-term incumbent and control of the Senate is at stake.