What we know (and don’t know) about how Maine Democrats will replace Graham Platner
By Ethan Cohen, CNN
(CNN) — Maine Democrats are embarking on a two-week sprint to pick a new nominee for one of the year’s most important races in the wake of Graham Platner’s decision this week to suspend his Senate campaign after allegations of sexual assault, which he denies.
Shortly before Platner announced on Wednesday he’d be leaving the race, the party’s state committee voted to hold a nominating convention to choose a replacement before the 5 p.m. ET deadline on July 27.
But many details about the process – including when the convention will be held, who the delegates will be and how exactly candidates can access the ballot – have not been announced.
In a statement, party leaders said that “transparency is of the utmost importance,” and they would announce additional details “soon.”
The convention process could be similar to how national parties pick presidential candidates, when delegates elected from each state are ultimately responsible for choosing their nominees. But while in the modern presidential process delegates generally vote for a candidate based on the results of a popular vote, given the compressed timeline in Maine, it seems unlikely there will be a similar statewide opportunity for voters to express their preference.
The convention is expected to feature roughly 600 delegates, including around 500 elected from the state’s 16 counties and about 100 voting members of the state committee, a source familiar with the process told CNN.
The process for how those delegates are selected, and who those people ultimately are, will go a long way to determining which of the more than half a dozen hopefuls emerges as the new nominee.
And there are far more questions than answers.
For example, who will get to vote for delegates within each county? Will delegates run affiliated with specific candidates, or will they ask voters to trust their judgment at the convention?
Then, there’s the question of how voting at the convention will work. With so many potential candidates, it’s easy to imagine no candidate having a majority. Will the party use ranked-choice voting, as the state does in primaries? Or will there be multiple rounds of voting, during which campaigns can try to lobby delegates to their side?
Another outstanding issue that still needs to be resolved: Platner is still technically on the ballot. While he said in his withdrawal video that he would submit paperwork to remove himself, he hasn’t yet, according to the Maine Secretary of State’s office. He has until 5 p.m. ET on Monday to do so.
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