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Graham Platner the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Maine announced the suspension of his campaign via an 11 minute video posted to social media on July 8 according to the BBC. The move came just over 48 hours after Politico published allegations from an ex girlfriend that an intoxicated Platner had entered her home uninvited in 2021 and sexually assaulted her a claim he has denied. The oysterman and former Marine had built a grassroots network of more than 15000 supporters and secured the nomination with 72 percent of the vote in the June primary defeating establishment favorite Gov Janet Mills The Wall Street Journal reported.
Platner had been championed by progressive figures including Vermont Sen Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen Elizabeth Warren as he challenged five term incumbent Republican Sen Susan Collins the only GOP member of Congress from a state that backed Democrats in the 2024 presidential election the BBC noted. For Democrats the Maine contest represented a must win target in their bid to net four Republican held seats and regain control of the Senate in the 2026 midterms according to multiple reports including from The Hill. A Siena College poll of likely voters conducted in late June had shown Platner leading Collins 49 percent to 47 percent while a Fox News survey around the same time had Collins ahead 50 percent to 47 percent Ballotpedia data shows.
The suspension has intensified rifts between the party’s progressive and moderate wings that surfaced during the primary when Platner overcame the preferred candidate of Democratic leaders a divide that The Wall Street Journal described as laying bare deep divisions ahead of the midterms. University of Maine at Farmington professor James Melcher told the BBC that much of Platner’s base whose passion Democrats will want could sit on their hands if the replacement process appears to favor the establishment over grassroots preferences. Former state Sen Lynn Bromley who had supported Mills in the primary added that the party has significant work to attract young people and that Platner’s campaign demonstrated available energy according to the BBC.
Within hours of the Politico story state and national Democrats including some of Platner’s progressive allies withdrew support and the national party said it would stop financing his campaign the BBC reported. Platner insisted in his video that he was not stepping down because of the allegation but because structures were being taken from those in power and he would not formally withdraw until assured of an open and democratic process for choosing his successor. The Maine Democratic Party announced it would hold a convention with hundreds of delegates sometime in the next two weeks to select a nominee before a state mandated July 27 deadline according to the BBC and The Hill.
Potential replacements include former state Senate leader Troy Jackson who campaigned with Platner during a prior bid for governor state epidemiologist Nirav Shah who finished second in a recent race and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows the party’s 2014 Senate nominee the BBC stated. Jackson has expressed support for policies such as Medicare for all and strong labor unions drawing progressive backing while others bring name recognition and campaign experience The Hill noted in coverage of the scramble. University of Maine professor James Melcher assessed that while many Platner supporters will feel the loss of their connection to the unconventional candidate they will likely back a replacement given the high stakes but warned against any perception of disrespect or a closed process the BBC reported.
The contest had highlighted Democrats’ desire for outsider candidates offering bold visions on issues such as universal health care wealth taxes and affordable housing that could appeal to rural voters who have shifted away from the party in recent cycles according to analyses in The New York Times. Collins has proven a resilient opponent having defeated better funded challengers in the past including in 2020 despite late polls showing her trailing. A University of New Hampshire poll from May had shown Platner with a narrow lead over Collins in a hypothetical matchup underscoring how competitive the race had been before the latest developments scholars.unh.edu figures show.
