The race to determine who will replace Graham Platner as Maine’s Democratic Senate nominee is beginning to take shape, after a stream of candidates stormed the race to take his place on the ballot.
Former state senator Troy Jackson, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Nirav Shah, former Capitol Hill staffer Jordan Wood, former congressional candidate Paige Loud, and Maine Beer Company founder Dan Kleban are six candidates who have declared their intention to run so far. Candidates to replace Platner must formally declare their campaign to do so by Wednesday, July 15, at 5 p.m. Then, they will take part in a whirlwind convention held by the Maine Democratic Party to select the new nominee. The party has until July 27 at 5 p.m. to formally submit Platner’s replacement.
Loud and Wood competed against each other in the Democratic primary in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District this year. Both lost, with Loud coming in last, and Wood narrowly being defeated in the second round of voting.
Jackson, Shah, and Bellows all ran for governor this year, but lost the Democratic Party’s nomination to former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree. Shah received the most first-choice votes but lost to Pingree after Jackson, Bellows, and Pingree formed a three-candidate ranked-choice coalition, which brought her down through Maine’s ranked-choice voting system.
Are any candidates campaigning yet?
Shah hit the ground running, announcing this week he’s doing a tour called “Defeat Susan Collins Town Halls” across the state. He kicked off his first one Saturday in Freeport. Wood has also posted pictures of himself campaigning with supporters.
Kleeban, Loud, Jackson, and Bellows also appear to have done a few on-the-ground events so far.
Online campaigning and more: Candidates begin their run
Jackson has been in Maine politics for years and served as president of the state senate from 2018 to 2024. He served as Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-VT) Maine political director, and the Vermont socialist backed his gubernatorial campaign.
Jackson is the clear frontrunner in endorsements, since Sanders, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), and Our Revolution, a group founded by the Vermont socialist, all back his campaign. None of the other candidates appear to have garnered significant endorsements yet.
Jackson has built perhaps the most versatile social media strategy so far, posting personal video pitches, highlighting an ad campaign, and going on national TV. He has embraced Platner’s push for Medicare for All and his aggressive anti-Israel stance. Earlier this week, Jackson accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and committed to “never vote in favor of US taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel.”
Years ago, Jackson was a Republican, but he became a Democrat by 2004. For some time, he remained more conservative on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. In 2011, he voted for a bill that would have affirmed life in the womb. These days, Jackson says he is strongly pro-choice and believes “abortion is healthcare.”
Before attempting her run for governor, Bellows stoked controversy for seeking to disqualify President Donald Trump from the 2024 primary ballot in her state, on claims he incited an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Bellows later withdrew her decision after the Supreme Court reversed a Colorado court ruling that had disqualified Trump from its state ballot on the same legal grounds.
Bellows has done fairly little to spread awareness of her Senate campaign on social media. Aside from an announcement launching her campaign, she has posted just two videos on X. She has pledged to fight for Medicare for All and to back freezing property taxes during her gubernatorial campaign.
Shah initially received the most first-choice votes when he tried to become the Democrats’ gubernatorial nominee this year. As he now campaigns for Senate, he has suggested that his time spent on the ground running for governor makes him the most electable.
He holds the largest following on X of any of the six contenders, highlighting an event on Saturday he said garnered “200+ FIRED UP Mainers” with less than 22 hours of notice. Shah has embraced Medicare for All, denounced Immigration and Customs Enforcement, touted abortion, and said he “will work to end pointless wars.”
Shah has faced significant opposition from Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), who expressed concerns about his handling of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at a veterans facility when he was serving as public health director of Illinois.
Kleban ran for Senate last year before dropping his bid and endorsing Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME), who also ended up suspending her bid after Platner gained traction.
Kleban’s social media profile is relatively limited, and he has primarily highlighted appearances from a CNN interview since announcing his run. However, he is active on Substack, where he announced his bid. Kleban has said he would condition arms sales to Israel, but stopped short of fully embracing Platner’s anti-Israel stance, declining to describe the war in Gaza as a “genocide.” He has marked himself as an establishment rebel, with a promise not to support keeping Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in his leadership position if elected.
Wood is running in the Senate race after losing his campaign in the state’s 2nd District. He previously served in D.C. as chief of staff for former California congresswoman Katie Porter.
Wood has noted he is gay and criticized “homophobia from our own Democratic Party establishment in Washington, DC,” which could garner support from the LGBT faction of the party. He has been fairly active on social media and promoting his campaign, though his following is fairly small.
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Wood has come out strongly against the America Israel Public Affairs Committee, a popular among progressives, and condemned what he describes as Israel’s genocide in Gaza. He has pledged to run an “unapologetically progressive” campaign that pursues an assault weapons ban, seeks to bar congressional stock trading, and focuses on Medicare for All, universal child care, and abortion rights, as well as stopping ICE from “terrorizing our streets.”
Loud describes herself as a democratic socialist who was formerly a social worker. She also ran in the state’s 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary, but came in last. She faces a long shot at securing the Senate nomination and holds a limited following on social media. Her issues website states a number of classic socialist positions, including her opposition to capitalism and support for Medicare for All. She also marks herself as against data centers.