Maine Democrats advanced on Saturday toward selecting a Senate nominee to replace Graham Platner, naming hundreds of delegates for next week’s party convention and giving a clear boost to candidate Troy Jackson.
Following a day of gatherings in college lecture halls, school gymnasiums, barns, civic centers and online meetings, Mr. Jackson, a progressive former state Senate president, said he had secured a notable edge in eight counties that chose delegates on Saturday.
A review of county outcomes, campaign delegate lists and interviews with party operatives, voters and candidates indicated a strong performance by Jackson, though upcoming events such as a high-profile debate could still alter the contest.
“I’ve been getting text messages all day about, you know, what a great job I did,” Mr. Jackson, a logger by trade, said in a video his campaign posted on Facebook, adding, “All of you just smoked it.”
Eight other counties had not yet selected delegates, and the full extent of Jackson’s advantage heading into the July 25 convention remained uncertain. Some delegates listed preferences in nominating papers and campaign forms but may still change their minds before the convention.
By Saturday night, however, Jackson had established a formidable lead in a crowded field. The convention’s pick will challenge Senator Susan Collins, viewed as one of the more vulnerable Republican incumbents in the midterms despite her long resilience in the Democratic-leaning state.
In many respects, the day reflected the campaign machinery built in the 10 days since Platner said he would exit the race more than it resembled grassroots town-hall democracy.
Jackson’s campaign said it would host a tailgate at York County’s party meeting Sunday morning after his “commanding performance” on Saturday.
Other campaigns struck different notes.
Jordan Wood, who entered the Senate race after losing a competitive House primary last month, called the results “shocking.” He said he was surprised that he and Dr. Nirav Shah, runner-up in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, had not drawn more caucus support.
Dr. Shah did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did Dan Kleban, a brewery owner who restarted the Senate campaign he had dropped in the fall.
Shenna Bellows, Maine secretary of state who lost to Collins in 2014 and placed fourth in the gubernatorial primary, voiced confidence on social media.
“No one in Maine has a track record like mine of standing up to Trump,” Ms. Bellows wrote on Facebook on Saturday night. “I can’t wait to take that fight to the US Senate.”
County Democratic committees faced the task of narrowing nearly 3,700 delegate applicants to 500 by Sunday night. Those delegates will join about 100 state party committee members to choose the new Senate nominee next week.
The state party launched the caucus process after Platner ended his campaign this month following a rape allegation he denied. With a July 27 candidate deadline, the party built the nomination system from scratch.
About 11,500 Mainers took part in Saturday’s meetings, said Devon Murphy-Anderson, executive director of the Maine Democratic Party, in a social media video Saturday night. Roughly 19,000 Democrats were expected to participate over the weekend.
“Meetings like this normally take months,” Wayne Kinney, chair of the Franklin County Democrats, told voters at a Farmington meeting Saturday morning. “Here, we’ve done this in days.”
In Cumberland County, the state’s largest and home to Portland, a Zoom session to elect 149 delegates from nearly 1,300 candidates was quiet and screenless through most of the three-and-a-half-hour vote.
Voters received ballots by email and text.
Late in the night, chair Joseph Zamboni broke a tie for the 30th alternate by drawing one of two names from a baseball cap while looking away.
Candidates traveled across the state to attend in-person events. Dr. Shah, a former public health official, brought green “Shah for Senate” signs and posed with supporters in Calais, Wiscasset and Augusta, while Kleban met voters in Augusta and Farmington.
The process continues Sunday as the remaining eight counties choose delegates.
Peter Stein, a 67-year-old scientist and engineer elected as a Franklin County delegate, volunteered for Jackson in his unsuccessful gubernatorial bid and had backed Platner.
”Jackson is a lifelong Mainer and speaks like one. That matters to people,” Mr. Stein said, adding, “He’s incredibly intelligent, he puts smart people around him and he wears his heart on his sleeve.”
He contrasted Jackson with Dr. Shah, whom he called too much an outsider after moving to Maine in 2019 to lead the state CDC.
Others remained undecided.
Anne Smith, 70, a retired translator also elected as a Franklin County delegate, said at the start of Saturday’s meeting she was still weighing her choice.
“I want to wait for another week, nearly a week, and weigh up all the options, listen to debates, do more research,” said Ms. Smith before becoming one of the county’s nine delegates. “And at that point I’ll be ready to commit myself.”
On Sunday in York County, where Jackson’s campaign will hold its tailgate, more than 80 delegates will be chosen at a Sanford meeting near the state’s southwestern border.
“It looks like Troy’s in the catbird position,” said David Farmer, a Democratic consultant in Maine. “If his delegates hold true. And I have no reason to believe they won’t.”
