CNN
By Ethan Cohen, Jeff Zeleny, 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 end 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.
While the state party is beginning to release more information about the process, many details, including when the convention will be and how exactly delegates will be selected, have not been announced.
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?
One thing that is now clear is the process for candidates to qualify for the ballot.
Candidates have until Wednesday evening to file a formal declaration of candidacy with the state party and then until July 20 to submit at least 500 signatures from registered Maine Democrats, including at least 50 from eight counties.
Another issue that had been hanging over the process has also now been resolved. Platner formally withdrew from the ballot Friday, despite telling his campaign staff in a call Wednesday that he planned to wait until Monday, the last possible day, to do so.
In his withdrawal letter, Platner framed his decision as a way to continue his campaign’s legacy.
“People are desperate for change. For this broken system to be righted. For the American experiment to be furthered,” Platner wrote.
“My name may hav