Meet the Democrats gunning to replace Graham Platner in a crucial Senate showdown

PORTLAND, Maine - The clock is quickly ticking in the race to replace former candidate Graham Platner as Maine's Democratic Senate nominee in the race to challenge longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Candidates gunning to win the Democratic nomination must file with the state party by Wednesday to get on the ballot. Eight Democrats have filed so far to run for the nomination, which will be determined by 601 voting delegates at a July 25 convention held by the Maine Democratic Party.

Platner, a populist Democrat who was backed last September by progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders, won the early June Democratic primary in a landslide. He was challenging Collins in a high-profile, combustible and expensive race which is one of a handful that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority in November's midterm elections.

A combat veteran and oyster farmer whose campaign caught fire, Platner steamrolled the Democratic establishment. But even as he crushed the competition to capture the nomination, Platner had already been forced on defense in the wake of a slew of scandals.

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Graham Platner speaks at his Primary Election event on June 9, 2026, in Blue Hill, Maine. (CJ Gunther/Getty Images)

Platner dropped out of the race last week, amid calls from top Democrats in Maine and across the country to immediately exit the race following an explosive report contained an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated.

Facing a July 27 deadline to replace Platner with a new nominee, the state Democratic Party announced that all 16 Maine counties will convene special nomination meetings this weekend where participants will vote to elect delegates.

Those delegates will meet the following Saturday, July 25, in Bangor, Maine, to vote for the party's nominee.

Ahead of the vote, a "statewide network of volunteer leaders who organized, knocked doors, hosted events, and built the loop grassroots infrastructure behind Graham Platner's campaign," in an open letter on Tuesday to the state party made it clear that the organization they built "does not transfer automatically to whoever the Party selects."

"It will only continue to exist, and only continue to be deployed, for a nominee who publicly and explicitly adopts" a list of core progressive commitments that they listed.

The letter is a sign of the tough task ahead for whomever wins the nomination to quickly unite the different wings of the Democratic base.

Here's a look at who have already announced they're running.

Nirav Shah

Shah finished with the most votes in last month's Democratic gubernatorial primary, but lost the nomination to former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree following ranked choice voting.

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Democratic Senate candidate Nirav Shah holds a news conference outside Republican Sen. Susan Collins' office in Biddeford, Maine, on July 14, 2026. Shah took aim at Collins over a fatal shooting by ICE agents that took place a couple of blocks away a day earlier. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Shah directed the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention from 2019 to 2023 and later served as principal deputy director of the federal CDC, stepping down shortly after President Donald Trump assumed office last year.

Touting his "strong progressive stances," Shah told Fox News Digital that "my message to those supporters of Graham's is a very clear one. You have a home in this campaign. You have an important voice in this campaign."

Troy Jackson

Jackson, a former Maine Senate President and fifth-generation logger, came in third place in Maine's Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Jackson campaigned with Platner during Maine's primary, and, along with Platner, was endorsed by Sanders.

He's backed by Sanders' founded "Our Revolution," as well as the Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) as he runs for the Senate.

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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner and Troy Jackson stand together during a "Fighting Oligarchy" tour stop at the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus in Orono, Maine, on May 24, 2026. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

"This movement is always been bigger than one person. It's about taking on a system rigged against working people, fighting for Medicare for all, strong unions, higher wages, reproductive freedom, and an economy where billionaires and corporations finally pay their fair share," Jackson said Monday during a 'Our Revolution' virtual town hall, as he pointed to Platner supporters.

Shenna Bellows

Bellows, Maine's Secretary of State, came in fourth place in the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

"Flipping the Senate in November is crucial. I’m running to pass Medicare for all, fight for workers’ rights, and protect our neighbors," Bellows said in a social media post.

Maine Secretary of State and candidate for Governor Shenna Bellows speaks during a May Day rally organized by local unions, on May 1, 2026 outside City Hall in Portland, Maine. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)

If she wins the nomination, this will be the second time Bellows will face off against Collins. The senator topped Bellows by a more than two-to-one margin in the 2014 Senate election in Maine.

Jordan Wood

Wood is a former congressional staffer for Katie Porter who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination this year in Maine's 2nd Congressional District, a crucial swing seat.

Wood originally launched a Senate campaign last year, but pivoted to the House race when Democratic Rep. Jared Golden announced he wouldn't seek re-election.

"This campaign belongs to the Mainers who built it: the volunteers, small-dollar donors, and neighbors who filled town halls in every corner of the state. We refuse every dime of corporate PAC, AIPAC, and lobbyist money, because a movement funded by the people answers only to the people," Wood said on social media.

David Costello

This is Costello's second run this year for the Senate nomination.

He finished with 8% of the vote in the June primary, coming in third behind Platner and Gov. Janet Mills, who had already suspended her campaign but her name remained on the ballot.

A former Maryland Department of the Environment deputy secretary, Costello was the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine in the 2024 election, coming in a distant third to incumbent independent Sen. Angus King.

Dan Kleban

A co-founder of the Maine Beer Company, Kleban briefly ran for the Democratic Senate nomination before dropping out and endorsing Mills.

"I fully support an open, transparent process to earn the trust of our delegates, unite our party, and bring a new generation of leadership to Washington," Kleban wrote as he announced his filing on Tuesday.

Paige Loud

Loud is a social worker who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic primary for Maine's 2nd congressional district.

"The grassroots movement in Maine is more powerful than ever, and we cannot afford to lose that momentum. This has always been about building a future where every Mainer has a voice and a seat at the table," Loud wrote as she launched her Senate bid.

Elizabeth Dickerson

Dickerson's LinkedIn page indicates she served as a state representative from 2012 through 2014, resigning from the Legislature and working as a teacher in Colorado from 2016 to 2020 before moving back to Maine.

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"I believe in a world where everyone belongs, but the disparity between the rich and the poor keeps growing. I believe that with power, responsibility should follow," Dickerson wrote in explaining her Senate bid.