All eyes in Maine’s U.S. Senate race are on Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee faces a growing chorus of calls to end his candidacy and allow the party to replace him on the ballot after he was accused of sexual assault.
Platner, a political newcomer who cruised to victory in last month’s Democratic primary, denied the allegations leveled against him Monday by Maine resident Jenny Racicot. She told Politico that Platner entered her home uninvited while drunk in 2021 and sexually assaulted her; the Portland Press Herald has not independently verified Racicot’s allegations.
Platner described Politico’s reporting as inaccurate but said in a video statement that he and his campaign are “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.” Meanwhile, the Maine Democratic Party and many of his most high-profile supporters have withdrawn their endorsements and urged him to drop out — now including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Follow along for the latest in the Senate race.
“To be very clear, no one in campaign deliberations or familiar with my thinking is talking to the (New York Post),” Katz posted to X.
Fifield, who previously accused Platner of physical abuse in an interview with The New York Times, said she decided to publicly discuss the alleged condom removal to support Racicot and encourage other women to come forward.
Loud filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday.
The sunny post came in a stark contrast with Democrats’ scrambling as Platner remained silent Tuesday whether he would continue his campaign. While Collins has criticized Platner for the successive troubling revelations about his past, she has left the harshest attacks to her well-resourced backers and focused more on projecting stability and touting her sway in sending federal dollars to Maine.
Collins previously called the rape allegation against Platner, which he denies, “appalling,” but added in her statement that “it is not up to me to choose the Democratic nominee for Senate.”
The Senate is not currently in session, allowing Collins time to campaign in Maine for a sixth term. A spokesperson for her campaign had no comment Tuesday afternoon on Collins’ plans for the week. The Senate is scheduled to reconvene next week on Monday, which is also the statutory deadline for Platner to drop out of the race and allow Maine Democrats to pick a new Senate nominee.
Pringle added that Maine voters “will decide what comes next, and we trust them to do it with the seriousness this moment demands.”
Maine Democratic voters react to Platner rape allegations
The last 24 hours have created an extraordinary situation for Maine Democratic Party officials and voters alike. Platner’s supporters are reeling from the revelations as they try to square their support for the man and his ideas with the acts and behaviors he stands accused of.
“I have to this point stayed quiet about this year’s elections in my state, in deference to Mainers who I trust to make decisions about who they want to represent them,” Golden said in a written statement. “In the aftermath of (Monday’s) story about Graham Platner, I think Ms. Racicot’s testimony speaks for itself.”
Platner has denied Racicot’s allegations. And he has attributed his other past troubling behavior to his struggles with alcohol, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression from serving four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Golden, who is also a combat veteran, did not address questions about whether he would be interested in becoming the replacement nominee to take on Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins if Platner drops out.
It would be surprising if Golden, D-2nd District, was interested. He announced last fall that he wasn’t running for a fifth term because of political polarization and an increase in political violence and threats.
Platner’s campaign also only has about $8,000 in cable advertising booked for this week, and none in the weeks following, according to AdImpact.
AdImpact also said Pine Tree Results PAC, a conservative group that has spent millions on anti-Platner TV advertising, has removed its planned broadcast reservations over the next week. The ad tracker said the PAC has removed $1.5 million in advertising so far through July 15.
No answer at Platner’s Portland campaign office
PORTLAND — Graham Platner’s campaign office in Portland, on the edge of the Back Cove neighborhood just off the peninsula, appeared to be unoccupied Tuesday.
The campaign rents part of a unit in a warehouse-like building that also includes a coffee shop and a distillery. The doors to the campaign’s space were locked, and no one answered when a reporter knocked early Tuesday afternoon.
Who could replace Platner? Here are the names being floated.
As calls grow for Graham Platner to drop out of the Maine Senate race, some are already lining up to replace him on the ballot. Others are being discussed in Maine Democratic circles but have yet to publicly say whether they’d be interested.
The list includes three of the unsuccessful Maine Democratic candidates and several other prominent state Democrats. Read the full story here.
Sanders’ statement Tuesday afternoon was his first public comment on the newest allegations against Platner since Politico reported Monday that an ex-girlfriend accused him of sexual assault.
Sanders joined a growing list of prominent progressives and Democrats who have withdrawn their endorsements or called on Platner to end his campaign.
Costello and Platner share similar policy views, including support for Medicare for All, universal childcare, increasing taxes on the ultra-wealthy and restoring full sovereignty for tribes in Maine. And both have advocated for reforming the federal government to make it more responsive to people’s needs.
But Costello’s campaign never achieved the same feverish support that Platner’s did. He trailed significantly in both fundraising and opinion polling throughout the primary. Some opinion polls did not even include him, while others that did had his support in the single digits.
Costello eventually received about 8% of first-choice votes in the June primary, behind both Platner and Gov. Janet Mills, who had already suspended her campaign by the time the election arrived.
Shah added that any discussions about replacing Platner on the ballot should be “transparent and open” and that anyone seeking the nomination should agree to participate in a televised debate and host multiple public town halls.
The decision over whether to replace Platner falls to the Maine Democratic Party’s leaders, but only if Platner chooses to withdraw within the next several days.
“Upholding basic standards of integrity, decency, and ethics is not a qualification to win the American electorate’s trust; it is a requirement. In light of (Monday’s) horrific and disturbing allegations, the Sierra Club has rescinded its endorsement of Graham Platner and calls on him to withdraw his candidacy.”
“He should drop out and make way for a candidate that can defeat Susan Collins in November,” Walz added.
Walz had previously endorsed Platner and spoken in support of his candidacy at the Maine Democratic State Convention this spring.
Our Revolution also hinted at the potential battle over who would replace Platner if he drops out, the AP reports.
“Whoever leads this movement forward must be someone who has actually lived the fight Graham Platner ran on: a record with working people, with unions, against corporate money, already tested and trusted by the same base that delivered this result,” said a statement from Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said in a statement that Democrats won’t be able defeat Collins if Platner remains on the ballot.
“Graham Platner needs to immediately withdraw as the Democratic nominee for Senate and allow Maine Democrats the opportunity to choose a new candidate,” the senators from New York said.
Democrats need to flip four seats to win back control of the Senate, and Maine’s seat is considered the best of their best pickup opportunities.
End Citizens United and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund also rescinded their support of Platner on Monday in the wake of the new allegations.
The effort appears to be backed by Ben McCollister of Frame Strategies, a Portland-based media firm that developed advertising for Jackson’s run for governor. McCollister, who also served as Jackson’s chief of staff in the Maine Senate for three years, posted about the new website on X, saying: “Jackson has won in districts Democrats are told to write off. Rural, red, tough. He won them anyway, again and again, then rose to lead the Maine Senate. You don’t beat Susan Collins with potential. You beat her with proof.”
Maine Democrat: There are ‘at least 100’ other candidates better than Platner
A Maine lawmaker who previously supported Graham Platner and represents a key swing city did not mention Platner by name in saying Monday that he was “ashamed I’ve been quiet this long.”
“There are at least 100 Maine Democrats with substantially more policy making experience and moral rectitude than our current nominee for the U.S. Senate,” said state Rep. Adam Lee, D-Auburn. “We’ve spent 10 years watching Republicans bend themselves into a pretzel to justify their support for a charismatic yet morally bankrupt person who has been credibly accused of sexual assault. I refuse to do that.”
Scott’s statement was an apparent reference to remarks from a person familiar with the campaign’s internal discussions who spoke to the New York Times on Monday evening. That person said Platner, as he weighs whether to drop out, was seeking a guarantee that party officials would replace him with someone who shares “the values and vision and policy agenda” for which he had advocated, the Times reported.
Susan Collins calls allegations ‘appalling’
Graham Platner’s Republican opponent, incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, said in a statement to media outlets that the allegations against Platner are “appalling.”
“Nevertheless,” she added, “it is not up to me to choose the Democratic nominee for Senate.”
Gov. Janet Mills, who dropped out of the Senate race this spring as she trailed Platner significantly in fundraising and opinion polling, is “extremely unlikely” to be the nominee, Punchbowl News reported.
“There is no place in our politics for sexual violence. Not in our party, not in any party. Graham Platner must withdraw from this race today,” Jackson said in a statement released Monday by a spokesperson.
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. — who had campaigned with Platner and defended him after previous reports of alleged mistreatment of women — also called on Platner to drop out and suggested Jackson could be the right candidate to replace him on the ballot.
“I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line,” Khanna said on X. “These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.”
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and progressive stalwart, told the digital news website Semafor that she, too, had seen enough.
“Now more than ever we need leaders in Washington who reflect our values. There can be no tolerance for sexual assault,” Warren told Semafor. “Working families are counting on Democrats to win the Senate election in Maine to unrig our economy and hold Donald Trump accountable. With so much at stake, the best path forward is for Graham Platner to step aside as the Democratic nominee and address these serious allegations outside this Senate race.”
Other prominent Democrats calling for Platner to withdraw include Hannah Pingree, the Democratic nominee for governor; Mattie Daughtry, the Maine Senate president; and Ryan Fecteau, the state House speakre.
One prominent supporter of Platner who has not yet spoken about Monday’s allegations is U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the progressive independent from Vermont who was an early and vocal backer of Platner. He did not respond to a request for comment Monday on Politico’s story and on whether he continues to support him.
It’s not clear exactly what that process would look like.
David Farmer, a Democratic strategist, said the party seems to have broad discretion in how it would choose a replacement candidate, based on his reading of Maine law and the party’s charter.
Farmer said he would expect the party to include as many voices as possible in the process of selecting a replacement candidate.
“I just can’t imagine a process that’s exclusionary,” Farmer said. “I think you need an open process if this were to happen so that everyone feels like they got an opportunity to weigh in.”
Democrats in Gorham initially said on social media that Platner wasn’t feeling well; that post appeared to have been deleted as of Tuesday morning.
The Sanford-Springvale Democrats posted a message that said the town hall had been canceled and “may be rescheduled if he stays in the race, but that is looking less likely now that Maine Dems are calling for him to withdraw.”
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