{"id":5112,"date":"2026-07-17T06:03:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T06:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5112"},"modified":"2026-07-17T06:03:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T06:03:54","slug":"four-takeaways-from-the-first-maine-democratic-senate-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5112","title":{"rendered":"Four takeaways from the first Maine Democratic Senate debate"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Eight Maine Democratic candidates for Senate \u2014 four on one debate stage in one hour, four in the next \u2014 were not supposed to be on live television Thursday night. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Why American elections are so complicated \u2014 and secure<\/a><\/p>\n

But given the collapse of Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner\u2019s campaign after allegations of sexual assault,there they all were, competing to persuade voters \u2014 barely 100 days removed from the election \u2014 they are the best candidate to defeat Republican Senator Susan Collins.<\/span><\/p>\n

Behind podiums in the NewsCenter Maine studio in Portland, the candidates laid out their cases as part of the breakneck campaign to replace Platner on the ballot, as allowed under state law.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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More than a dozen hopefuls have filed to run, and on July 25, roughly 600 Maine Democrats will gather in Bangor to select one of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s televised debate was the first big public test for the candidates. Indeed, it was the first Democratic primary debate of this election cycle, period,since Governor Janet Mills dropped out of the race before her scheduled debates with Platner. Another debate will take place on CNN, co-hosted by the Bangor Daily News, on July 23.<\/span><\/p>\n

Given the size of the field, organizersdivided the candidates into two groups for two separate debates. The hour-long first segment featured three runners-up in last month\u2019s gubernatorial primary: former Maine public health official Nirav Shah, former state Senate president Troy Jackson, and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. They were joined by former congressional aide Jordan Wood, who placed third in the primary for Maine\u2019s 2nd Congressional District.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those four were given top billing because they each earned more than 20 percent of the vote in their respective primaries in June. The second debate featured Dan Kleban, the Maine Beer Company co-founder who briefly ran for Senate last year, as well as David Costello, who placed a distant third in the Senate primary, along with lesser-known candidates.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we learned:<\/span><\/p>\n

Graham Platner is still looming over this race<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The first question that all contenders were asked: what was Platner\u2019s best idea that they would carry forward? It reflected a fundamental reality of the race: just how much space Platner\u2019s energetic campaign took up in this election season and how much his left-wing pitch dominated the mood among Maine Democrats. <\/span><\/p>\n

The answers revealed another reality: that each of the contenders believe it\u2019s imperative to appeal to his movement by echoing Platner\u2019s positions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jackson said Platner\u2019s best issue he would carry forward was passing Medicare For All. Shah chose abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. Wood pointed to callingIsrael\u2019s war in Gaza a genocide. Bellows selected his emphasis on dismantling corruption in Washington and the political system.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the second debate, Kleban nodded to the core element of Platner\u2019s pitch. \u201cGraham Platner was right, the system is rigged, and Susan Collins has been a part of that system for 30 years,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Platner notched 72 percent of the vote in the June primary, despite simmering concerns about his personal baggage. <\/span><\/p>\n

Candidates debated Collins more than each other<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Both debates were remarkably civil: there were no attacks, either direct or more subtle, between the candidates. The real target was someone who was not there: Collins. <\/span><\/p>\n

When the moderators asked how thecandidates would make the case against Collins, the first round\u2019s participants threw out litanies of arguments against handing her a sixth term. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Takeaways from Trump\u2019s address claiming election vulnerabilities<\/a><\/p>\n

Shah tried to undermine Collins\u2019 signature strength, using her powerful perch on the Senate Appropriations Committee to bring back dollars to Maine. Others cited her Supreme Court votes and her stance on abortion rights (she is supportive of abortion rights, but her detractors frequently attack her vote for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh), and simply the long duration of her tenure in Washington. But, for the most part, no clear big-picture case against Collins emerged. <\/span><\/p>\n

After contending for months with Platner\u2019s scandals and party infighting, it was clear that Democrats feel an urgency to begin their general election campaign against Collins. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also possible that the dynamics of the upcoming convention influenced Democrats\u2019 reluctance to attack one another. <\/span><\/p>\n

In this field, candidates will need to appeal to rivals\u2019 constituencies in order to crack 50 percent after expected rounds of voting \u2014 and given the abbreviated timeline, there\u2019s no time for bad blood. <\/span><\/p>\n

These Democrats have<\/b><\/u>very few policy differences <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The dearth of attacks on Thursday may have something to do with a relative lack of material. <\/span><\/p>\n

On the issues, there\u2019s simply very little daylight between the leading candidates, who are positioning themselves as solid progressives and staunch foes of President Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the course of the first hour, the contenders each sounded increasingly outraged notes on ICE, sparked by the killing of a 25-year old man in Biddeford on Monday by an armed agent. Supporting Medicare For All and opposing what was agreed as Israel\u2019s genocide were universal. <\/span><\/p>\n

The forums featured few distinct pitches that centered a particular aspect of a candidate\u2019s background \u2014 whether that was focus on one issue, their political or legislative experience, or allegiance to a particular ideology or faction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Notably, there was very little talk of electability \u2014 a critical concern for many Democrats at this stage of the race. Candidates mentioned past successes and work to reach across the aisle, but none rolled out a full argument that they uniquely could appeal to independents and Republicans in order totopple Collins.<\/span><\/p>\n

The hastiness of this primary process is clearly on display<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

When discussing the war in Iran, Bellows charged that Collins wasn\u2019t doing enough to stop Trump. The moderator pointed out that Collins had in fact voted for a resolution to curb his war powers. It was a flub from Bellows, but her explanation was revealing of the drastic growing pains that are inevitable in a primary contest that has come together in a matter of days.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA week ago, I was on vacation… on the Kennebec, and I\u2019ve been running for governor for a long time,\u201d Bellows said. (She added, in a line that may age poorly, that \u201cwhen I need to know the facts, I will.\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed, Bellows, Jackson, and Shah were all recharging after spending the last year or more running for governor \u2014 not thinking about how to run against Collins. Wood and Kleban both ran for the Senate seat before dropping out because of Platner\u2019s rise, but had their focus had been away from the Senate for the better part of a year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Typically, Senate candidates may campaign for months \u2014 honing their cases, using polling to test the waters, talking to voters \u2014 until appearing on a debate stage. Some candidates may have felt more prepared to make a case against Collins, and Trump, but the reality is that none had been preparing for this specific event until this week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Follow live updates on the Trump administration<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Democrats who are seeking to replace Platner as the party’s nominee debated for the first time on Thursday night and found they had little to disagree on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nFour takeaways from the first Maine Democratic Senate debate - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=5112\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Four takeaways from the first Maine Democratic Senate debate - 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