WASHINGTON, July 17 - Four top candidates vying to replace Graham Platner as the Democratic U.S. Senate nominee in Maine took to the debate stage on Thursday to make their case for why they should be the one to face Republican Senator Susan Collins in November.

Here are some takeaways from the first hour of debate featuring Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Nirav Shah and ex-congressional aide Jordan Wood:

DEMOCRATS AVOID INFIGHTING

The Democratic candidates repeatedly attacked Collins and President Donald Trump rather than tearing one another down on stage.

The strategy is perhaps a reflection that the party will need to quickly coalesce behind the next nominee to unseat Collins, a well-funded moderate Republican with an independent streak who has represented the state for nearly 30 years.

Some 600 delegates will select a nominee next weekend to replace Platner, who withdrew last week after losing widespread support following sexual assault allegations that he denies. Twelve people are vying for the nomination.

Candidates went after the president over his foreign policy and immigration crackdown, which resulted in the death of a Colombian man in Maine on Monday.

They branded Collins as an enabler, criticizing her support for immigration enforcement funding without guardrails and her vote to advance the One Big Beautiful Bill's nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts despite voting against its final passage.

SHAH SHOWCASES DEBATE SKILLS

Shah stood out as the most skilled debater, quickly invoking what he called the infuriating "murder" of Joan Sebastian Guerrero by an ICE agent in his opening statement and later connecting the administration's crackdown to his story as the son of immigrants.

Shah blamed Collins and Republicans for making life less affordable for Mainers, citing increased costs from tariffs and the Iran war, as well as...