2026-07-15T16:53:53.397Z / 路透社
美国缅因州波特兰，2026年6月7日，民主党联邦参议员候选人格雷厄姆·普拉特纳在竞选市政厅活动上发言。路透社/布莱恩·斯奈德/资料图
- 摘要
- 缅因州新闻中心最初将周四时长90分钟的辩论限定为4名候选人参与
- 共有9名民主党人角逐7月25日在班戈举行的民主党全国代表大会提名
- 候选人需在周三下午5点前提交参选意向，并在周一前收集500个签名
缅因州波特兰7月15日路透电 — 主办缅因州民主党联邦参议员辩论的新闻机构已同意邀请8名已宣布参选的候选人登台，在最初排除半数参选者后，顺应了竞选团队要求扩大参与范围的呼吁。
“缅因州新闻中心联系了我的团队，告知所有已宣布参选的候选人现在都将获邀参加周四的辩论，”缅因啤酒公司联合创始人丹·克莱班在周二晚的社交媒体帖子中表示。“我已接受邀请，期待与其他候选人交流想法。”
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新增候选人对前缅因州参议院主席特洛伊·杰克逊来说是一大利好，他曾公开呼吁缅因州新闻中心允许所有已宣布参选的候选人参与这场90分钟的辩论。杰克逊的竞选团队表示，主办方最初仅邀请了在上月初选中获得至少20%选票的候选人。
共有9名民主党人角逐接替格雷厄姆·普拉特纳的提名资格，以在11月对阵共和党现任参议员苏珊·柯林斯。仅有4人达到最初的门槛：杰克逊、州务卿申娜·贝洛斯、前缅因州疾控中心主任尼拉夫·沙阿以及前国会助手乔丹·伍德。
柯林斯是该州唯一寻求连任的共和党现任参议员，民主党总统候选人卡玛拉·哈里斯在2024年该州的总统选举中获胜。共和党在参议院拥有53票对47票的多数席位，拿下缅因州的席位对民主党夺回参议院控制权的路径至关重要。
社会工作者佩奇·劳德和前资深政治助手戴维·科斯特洛在各自的初选中得票率未达20%。而克莱班、前州议员伊丽莎白·迪克森以及跨性别双性人候选人阿什利·韦伯上月并未参与初选。
缅因州新闻中心表示，他们邀请了所有在周二下班前提交参选申请的候选人，这意味着韦伯将无法参与此次辩论。
“这场竞选的一些候选人上月并未竞选完全不同的公职，这不应该成为我们无法登上辩论台的理由，”克莱班此前曾表示。
劳德的竞选团队最初告诉路透社，所有提交参选文件的候选人都应该获邀。周二晚，她在社交媒体帖子中称赞“与电视台的对话以及各竞选团队施加的压力”促成了参选范围的扩大。
普拉特纳退选引发竞选混乱
上周普拉特纳考虑暂停竞选活动时，潜在候选人呼吁采取开放、公平且透明的程序来替换他。这位养蚝人的竞选团队在性侵犯指控后垮台，他对此予以否认，这促使缅因州民主党推选新的候选人。
民主党表示，将在7月25日于班戈举行的代表大会上选出候选人。
“我已经准备好在周四登上辩论台，向缅因州民众阐述我的主张，”杰克逊在周二的一份声明中表示。“其他所有已注册参与民主党提名程序的候选人都应该拥有同样的机会，向代表和选民展示自己的主张。”
候选人需在周三下午5点前提交参选意向，并在周一前收集500个签名，其中至少包括来自8个县的50个签名。在代表大会上，数百名代表将进行投票，直到有候选人获得多数票。排名前五的候选人将进入第二轮投票，之后每轮投票将淘汰得票最低的候选人。
诺兰·D·麦卡斯克尔 报道
迈克尔·勒尔蒙特、罗德·尼克尔 编辑
我们的标准：路透社信托原则
Democratic debate to replace Platner in Maine will have 8 candidates
2026-07-15T16:53:53.397Z / Reuters
Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Graham Platner speaks at a campaign town hall meeting in Portland, Maine, U.S., June 7, 2026. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
- Summary
- News Center Maine had initially limited Thursday’s 90-minute debate to four candidates
- Nine Democrats are seeking the nomination before the party’s July 25 convention in Bangor
- Candidates must file by 5 p.m. Wednesday and submit 500 signatures by Monday
PORTLAND, Maine, July 15 (Reuters) – The news station hosting a Democratic U.S. Senate debate in Maine on Thursday has agreed to allow eight declared candidates on stage, yielding to campaigns’ calls for broader participation after initially omitting half the field.
“News Center Maine reached out to my team to let us know that all announced candidates will now be invited to participate in Thursday’s debate,” candidate Dan Kleban, co-founder of Maine Beer Company, said in a social media post late on Tuesday. “I have accepted the invitation and am looking forward to having an exchange of ideas with the other candidates.”
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The additions are a boon for Troy Jackson, the former Maine Senate president who publicly called on News Center Maine to allow every declared candidate to participate in the 90-minute debate. Jackson’s campaign said the host station invited only candidates who received at least 20% of the vote in their primary races last month.
Nine Democrats are vying to replace Graham Platner as the party’s nominee to take on Republican Senator Susan Collins in November. Only four met the original threshold: Jackson, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah and ex-congressional aide Jordan Wood.
Collins is the only Republican incumbent up for reelection in a state that Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris won in 2024. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, where flipping Maine is crucial to Democrats’ path to regaining control of the chamber.
Social worker Paige Loud and former longtime political aide David Costello finished under the 20% threshold in their respective races. But Kleban, former state Representative Elizabeth Dickerson and Ashley Webb, a transgender and intersex woman, were not on the ballot last month.
News Center Maine said it invited all candidates who had filed to run by close of business on Tuesday, meaning Webb will not participate.
“The fact that some candidates in this race weren’t running for completely different offices last month shouldn’t prevent us from taking the debate stage,” Kleban had said.
Loud’s campaign initially told Reuters that every candidate who filed their paperwork should be invited. In a social media post late on Tuesday, she credited “conversations with the station and pressure” from campaigns for widening the field.
PLATNER’S COLLAPSE SPARKS SCRAMBLE
As Platner was considering suspending his campaign last week, prospective candidates called for an open, fair and transparent process to replace him. The oysterman’s campaign collapsed after sexual assault allegations, which he denies, prompting the Maine Democratic Party to select a new nominee.
The party has said the nominee will be selected at a July 25 convention in Bangor.
“I’m ready to take the stage Thursday and make my case to Mainers,” Jackson said in a statement on Tuesday. “Every other candidate who has registered for the party’s nominating process should have the same opportunity to make their case to delegates and voters.”
Candidates have until 5 p.m. on Wednesday to file their intent to seek the nomination and must collect 500 signatures by Monday, including at least 50 from eight counties. At the convention, hundreds of delegates will vote until a candidate reaches a majority. The top five candidates will advance to the second round, and the lowest vote getter will be eliminated in each subsequent round.
Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill. Editing by Michael Learmonth, Rod Nickel
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
