Maine Democrats Breathlessly Wait as Platner Prolongs Withdrawal From Senate Race

Graham Platner has not yet filed his official paperwork to remove himself as the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate race in Maine this year, leaving some Democrats with concerns that he could mar efforts for an acceptable replacement. Mr. Platner has until Monday to drop out of the race so the Democratic Party can choose a new candidate for the November election. Mr. Platner announced in a lengthy video posted to social media on Wednesday that he would suspend his campaign operations after he was accused of raping an ex-girlfriend, an allegation that he denies and claims he only learned about after a reporter reached out to his team. As long as Mr. Platner drops out of the race before the end of the day on Monday, Democrats will be able to replace him on the ballot in order to have a fighting chance against Senator Susan Collins in November. If he fails to file that paperwork, then his name must stay on the ballot and Democrats would be forced to mount a write-in campaign against Ms. Collins. Though he said in his Wednesday suspension announcement video that he will file the necessary paperwork to leave the race, he still has not done so as of Thursday afternoon. Under Maine’s state law, the simple form announcing withdrawal can be transmitted to the secretary of state’s office electronically, meaning Mr. Platner and his team could take the step in a matter of minutes. Mr. Platner’s video announcing he would withdraw ran more than 11 minutes and included a long list of complaints about the political establishment and the “corporate media.” He laid into the Democratic establishment whose money he accepted to campaign against the elites whom he wishes to join at Washington.“There is a reason this is happening now,” Mr. Platner said in the video. “This was the last week to try to get me off of the ballot and that’s why this is occurring. It’s not the false allegations, though, that have brought us to where we are. It’s the fact that they are being used by the political establishment to put structural pressure on us.”Some Democrats have noted the ease with which Mr. Platner could leave the race, with some even wondering if he is trying to make one last power play against the state’s Democratic establishment. “It’s going to be a very anxious weekend for Maine Democrats,” the co-founder of VoteHub, Luke Wins, wrote on X. “I spoke to someone who met with Platner early on and said his ‘messianic complex’ was terrifying,” wrote a veteran Democratic communications consultant, Caitlin Legacki. “Easy to understand where that was coming from.”“There is no reason to believe Platner won’t be true to his word and formally exit on Monday so this should be concerning to no one,” a conservative activist, Caroline Wren, wrote sarcastically online. “Platner is a straight shooter and not known to mislead his staff.”Even though he has not yet filed the paperwork, Maine Democrats are moving on. They have promised to hold a nominating convention later this month, with 500 delegates sent from across the state, along with 100 members of the Maine State Democratic Committee. The state party has yet to divulge the voting processes, the timing, or the location of the convention, though the party’s leadership said Wednesday that additional details will be shared “soon.”So far, five candidates have officially entered the race — the former state Senate President, Troy Jackson, a former public health official Nirav Shah, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a former congressional candidate, Jordan Wood, and Maine Brewing Company co-founder Dan Kleban.Mr. Jackson is seen by far as the most progressive of the bunch. Many believe that it would be fairest for Mr. Jackson to be tapped as the nominee, given the popularity of Mr. Platner’s left-wing politics among the party’s base — evidenced by his overwhelming primary win. Mr. Platner has made no endorsement, and even if he did try to back the race’s progressive frontrunner, Mr. Jackson says he doesn’t want it.Mr. Platner’s campaign team was accused of trying to put a “thumb on the scale” for a progressive candidate by the state Democratic Party’s leadership, another allegation he denies. In his video announcing his suspension on Wednesday, he reiterated that he wants the process for choosing a new nominee to be transparent and fair, as well as one that results in a progressive being swapped in as the new Senate nominee. “It needs to be open, transparent, and democratic. It needs to be reflecting the will and the values of the people that built this movement, the people that showed up on June 9. People in D.C. need to stay in D.C. Decisions should not be made in back rooms by people in places of political power,” Mr. Platner said.

Maine Democrats Breathlessly Wait as Platner Prolongs Withdrawal From Senate Race

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