No matter whom Maine Democrats elect to be their nominee for U.S. Senate, they will be picking someone who believes in Medicare for All, campaign finance reform and that Sen. Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent they’re trying to defeat, deserves an “F” grade.

Responding to a Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram questionnaire this week, nearly a dozen of the mini-primary candidates had strikingly similar answers to questions about a range of topics.

And even where the candidates differed, there was little room between their answers. For example, each decried the war in Gaza and supported conditions on funding to Israel, but some didn’t call Israel’s actions a genocide. And, perhaps predictably, each said they were the most electable candidate.

The candidates running for office include former Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah; Secretary of State Shenna Bellows; former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson; former congressional staffer and End Citizens United vice president Jordan Wood; third-place Senate primary finisher David Costello; health policy executive Elizabeth Coté; former state Rep. Elizabeth Dickerson; Maine Beer Co. co-owner Dan Kleban; Marine Corps veteran Joseph Leveille; women’s health advocate Saundra Pelletier; communications executive Kristina Libby; and Ashley Webb, an author and musician.

It’s not voters these candidates have to convince of their fitness for office. Instead, it’s a crowd of 601 Democratic delegates to a convention set for July 25 in Bangor. Most of the delegates haven’t been elected yet — that will happen at a series of county meetings this weekend.

Those delegates will then be choosing between candidates who, on the substance at least, are largely aligned. But the small cracks between some of their positions shine a light where the only policy differences might be.

WHERE THEY AGREE

ICE reform

Each candidate said Immigration and Customs Enforcement needs, at least, major reforms. Most said the agency should be abolished and replaced with a complete overhaul.

In their responses, most cited the killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford by an ICE officer on Monday morning.

Bellows was the lone candidate who did not directly say she would support dismantling or abolishing ICE. Bellows, who as Secretary of State has blocked ICE from obtaining confidential license plates, said Maine “needs ICE out now” and that she “will not fund ICE until it is completely overhauled.”

Medicare expansion

Every candidate said they would support the expansion of Medicare benefits to all Americans if they were elected.

Most said they see Medicare for All as a cost of living issue: a single-payer system would eliminate most out-of-pocket costs and would allow the federal government to negotiate drug prices more effectively, several candidates said.

Wood and Kleban said they would support maintaining some level of private health insurance for those who want it. Kleban said while expanding Medicare to every American may not yet have the political support needed to pass, Congress should enact a public option system for those under 65.

A failing grade for Collins

Each major candidate gave Collins, the five-term incumbent who will face the Democratic nominee in November, a grade of F for her performance in office. Many acknowledged she has consistently brought funding to Maine as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee — but said the money wasn’t enough to make up for her other perceived deficiencies.

“Securing funding is the job — not a permission slip to betray Mainers,” Jackson said.

Candidates also criticized Collins for her support for Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, and many portrayed her as a rubber stamp for President Donald Trump’s preferred policies.

“What has all that seniority actually bought Mainers except higher costs?” Shah said.

Campaign finance reform

Every candidate said they support reforming campaign finance law, and most said they specifically would support legislation to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision that opened the door to unlimited corporate political spending.

The filibuster

Eliminating the filibuster, which functionally requires at least 60 senators to support major policy bills in order to move them toward passage, also appears to be a common goal among the major candidates. Bellows, Shah, Jackson, Kleban, Wood and Costello all said they would support an end to the Senate tradition.

Several candidates noted that the filibuster has thwarted progressive goals when Democrats controlled the Senate in the past, including measures on voting rights.

One candidate, Ashley Webb, said she would not support ending the filibuster. She said the 60-vote requirement “protects us from bad laws.” Trump has called for an end to the filibuster so Congress can pass a measure opposed by Democrats that would, among other things, require states to remove noncitizens from voter rolls.

Israel

On continued arms shipments and funding for Israel, the major candidates were unanimous: Halt funding for offensive weapons until Israel meets stringent humanitarian conditions. The weapons funding has become increasingly contentious among Democrats; more than half of House Democrats voted Wednesday to strip $3.3 billion in aid from Israel this week.

All but three candidates said Israel’s actions in Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas have constituted a genocide.

Elizabeth Coté, the former medical director of Catholic Charities in Maine, said courts determine “genocide, not a candidate.” Kleban called Israel’s actions “morally reprehensible” but did not explicitly use the word “genocide.” Dickerson said the “starvation of innocent people in Gaza is inescapable and painful.”

AFFORDABILITY

The Press Herald asked candidates to explain the highlights of their plan to reduce the cost of living for Mainers. The economy is the top concern of Maine voters, a New York Times/Press Herald/Siena poll found last month, and most Mainers disapprove of Trump on his handling of the economy, the survey found.

Most candidates mentioned implementing Medicare for All, ending the Iran war and reversing the tariffs championed by Trump.

Many also mentioned housing, with Jackson, Webb and Kleban specifically calling for legislation to curb corporate landlords from buying up Maine’s housing stock. The law passed by Congress last month limits the ability of institutional investors to buy single-family homes.

Kleban was the only candidate to mention the need for more “missing middle” housing — such as townhomes and accessory dwelling units — to bring down the cost of housing.

Costello, Jackson, Wood and Shah all mentioned childcare as one of the core tenets of their affordability plan. Wood, the father of a young child, said he hoped to cap childcare at $10 per day, paid for by a tax on people with fortunes of more than $50 million.

Bellows and Jackson, meanwhile, were the only candidates to mention tackling price gouging.

OVERALL PRIORITIES

The Press Herald asked the candidates an open-ended question about their top three priorities. Each mentioned affordability, most included the implementation of universal healthcare and most said they’d aim to stop or reverse Trump administration actions.

But each had slightly different versions of those priorities.

Jackson stuck to affordability, saying he hoped to pass universal healthcare, eliminate price gouging and build affordable housing.

Wood, the former vice president of End Citizens United, focused on eliminating corruption in Washington, starting by reforming campaign finance law. This was also a campaign priority of Graham Platner, who won the June 9 Senate Democratic primary.

Bellows said she hopes to “protect democracy, abortion rights and our environment.”

Shah said he was running to “end the corruption that has rigged our economy against working people” — another Platneresque statement.

And Kleban said he wants to invest in public and trades education, and he said he wants to remove red tape for new businesses and housing.

ELECTABILITY

Lastly, we asked the candidates about electability. Predictably, each said they were the best candidate to defeat Collins.

Coté, Libby and Webb each pointed out their lack of political experience as a draw for voters.

“I am a real person,” Webb said.

Platner rode a wave of anti-establishment sentiment to the nomination last month, a sign Mainers might be looking for an outsider in the race.

But Shah and Jackson highlighted their time as state leaders during fraught times. Jackson emphasized his electoral victories in districts that Trump and Collins won.

Several candidates — Bellows, Dickerson, Coté and Costello — touted their working-class upbringing. Pelletier, the CEO of a women’s health bioscience company, said she was uniquely positioned to fight Collins on abortion.

None directly addressed the reason they have the opportunity to run in the first place: that Platner was accused of rape by an ex-girlfriend, rapidly lost his support and dropped out of the race.

Wood, for his part, said he had been properly vetted during his unsuccessful runs for Senate and the 2nd Congressional District earlier this cycle.

“No surprises left,” he said.