Maine Democratic Party Special Nominating Convention
the problem
When Graham Platner dropped out of the U.S. Senate race in July 2026, the Maine Democratic Party had to do something never done before: create a fair, transparent process to select a new nominee in just over two weeks. As the party’s digital team, Which Side played a crucial role in making sure that information was instantly available, that the application process for candidates, delegates, and meeting participants ran smoothly, and that the Special Nominating Convention was successful.
With the whole world watching and major news outlets reporting hourly, the Which Side team mobilized to ensure we delivered round-the-clock service on a compressed timeline.
the solution
The process for selecting a new Senate candidate took place over 17 days. Building first to delegate nominating meetings where 500 delegates would be selected from 16 counties on July 18th and 19th, and culminating with a nominating convention on July 25th. Over 20,000 Mainers registered to vote in their county, and 4,000 sought nomination as delegates. In the end, 17,279 cast their ballot for delegates in their county. Despite the short runway, the nomination process was clear, fair, and ran smoothly, ending with the nomination of Troy Jackson.
Through the project, Which Side provided crucial digital and on-the-ground support, designing six months of web infrastructure in two weeks’ time, creating the forms and ballots integral to making the process happen, uploading live results for press and voters, and much more.
timeline
Graham Platner suspends Senate campaign
MDP announces potential process
MDP announces full process
WSD creates Senate Convention website FAQ page
Delegate Nominating process rolled out
WSD launches full Senate Convention website hub
WSD launches Senate Candidate voter guide
WSD arrives on the ground to assist
WSD finalizes signage and collateral for meetings
WSD launches county delegate voter guide
Delegate nominating meeting schedule released
Delegate nominating meetings
WSD helps answer social media questions in real time
WSD assists party leadership on the ground during meetings
WSD releases delegate results on MDP website
MDP releases the full nominating meeting results on website
WSD assists with data validation
WSD and MDP finalize ballots
Senate Convention in Bangor
WSD launches Troyotathon victory merch
stats at a glance
600k
website visits
33
Senate Process hub pages
3k+
Delegate guide entries
601
ballots
6
NEW MERCH PIECES
20k+
Mainers mobilized
web
The sudden change and uncertainty made information accessibility crucial, especially with website views skyrocketing to 600,000 hits over two weeks. With the rollout of the convention system, we built a separate information hub with daily updates and additions explaining the convention process. Key features included a countdown clock to the convention, FAQs, registration forms for delegates, candidates, and participants, a special volunteer form, and a detailed hub outlining the over 3,000 delegate candidates and over a dozen Senate candidates. This amounted to around six months of web infrastructure created in just two weeks, and dealt with a high level of strain, with 2,000 Mainers applying to participate in the first 24 hours.
Which Side provided around-the-clock support throughout the entire process, often working late into the night to ensure the party could publish the latest drop of information as Mainers, press, and political junkies around the country waited with bated breath.
design
The Which Side team crafted dozens of social graphic sets and physical collateral to announce meetings, cover new candidates as they announced, and keep the public informed. Among these were handouts featuring the candidates, ballots, rally signs, and branded informational materials for the convention, such as collectable trading cards featuring the final candidates.
With far less time, Which Side provided the same exceptional experience as we did for the state Democratic convention in May.
Merch Store
After Troy Jackson won the nomination, Which Side designed new merchandise for the party merch store. Capitalizing on momentum and visibility by dropping two Troyotathon-themed designs in the moments after the convention gaveled out, WSD helped Maine Democrats celebrate both their new nominee and the end of the convention process.
Rainey’s Story
Which Side master of ceremonies Rainey Colglazier was crucial in keeping office morale high during a stressful time. His presence in the office was welcomed with open arms and many, many treats. He worked hard keeping the tired staff and volunteers smiling throughout the process.
stats
40+ office naps taken
6+ sandwiches stolen
35+ peanut butter pretzels eaten
Press
Which Side put up dozens of press releases in real time, which were collectively viewed by thousands. With significantly more search hits on the MDP website and the whole country watching, managing these updates in a timely fashion was essential.
During the most crucial moments, WSD stepped up and delivered. The Which Side team was responsible for uploading the results of the Senate nominating meetings to the website in real time to keep Mainers and the press informed. With 16 counties and over 500 delegates to watch, this was a test of Which Side’s web infrastructure and teamwork with the party, which we pulled off flawlessly.
On the Ground
Which Side founders Josh Wills and Colton Colglaizer flew out to help the Maine Democratic Party in person, spending multiple days on the ground collaborating directly with party staff and leadership to ensure all digital rollouts ran smoothly. In the days leading up to the convention, WSD leadership assisted the party in any way they could, including data validation, ballot making, staffing party leadership at county nominating meetings, and more.
When convention day came, Colton led a team of volunteers in Bangor and assisted in putting the livestream on the website, and Josh monitored social media as the situation developed, answering questions from Mainers about the nominating process as they appeared. When our team returned home after a long two weeks, we were exhausted, but fulfilled and excited at what we were able to accomplish in such a short time.
Support You Deserve
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