Maine Democrats still have an opportunity to replace Senate nominee Graham Platner ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, but the timetable for making such a move is rapidly narrowing.
On Monday, POLITICO published a major report citing allegations from the Democratic candidate’s former girlfriend, who claimed Platner entered her home without permission and raped her nearly five years ago.
Platner has denied the sexual assault allegation, while acknowledging that he is “mindful” of the political stakes and is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.”
The report came after Platner had quietly called off several Maine Senate campaign events.
For Democrats, the Maine Senate contest is a crucial pickup opportunity: defeating Republican incumbent Susan Collins is central to their hopes of reclaiming the Senate majority. The party can still move on from Platner and select another nominee, provided he exits the race by July 13.
Maine election rules allow the Democratic Party to name a replacement in a process comparable to the 2024 presidential ticket change from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris, without requiring the new candidate to win a primary.
If Platner formally withdraws by 5 p.m. on July 13, party leaders would be permitted to choose a new nominee.
Democrats would then have until 5 p.m. on July 27 to finalize that replacement, giving them two weeks to settle on the strongest alternative for the general election campaign.
This would give the new candidate 99 days to campaign — eight days shorter than Harris’ sudden 2024 presidential run.
According to Maine Statue, it does not address how a replacement candidate may be chosen, but says that the candidate filling the vacancy must be a “qualified person.”
One Maine resident posted on X that he received a survey by text on Monday — before the POLITICO report was released — asking about a replacement candidate for Platner.
The survey shared that “some have suggested that Democrat Brian Bryant will step in to replace Platner on the ballot” and asked respondents to answer who they’d vote for between Collins and Bryant, a labor union official, and about Maine election laws. There was no indication of who was sponsoring the text in the survey.
Another name floating around for replacement is Troy Jackson — a progressive Democrat — who ran for Maine governor but lost and is a former state senator. Jackson received endorsements from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for his gubernatorial run.
Gov. Janet Mills is another option, but Platner soundly defeated her in the primary.
As of Monday, Platner is still the Democratic nominee, and the Democratic Party has not stated any plan to swap Platner as their candidate. However, it is expected that some lawmakers will rethink their endorsements of the Senate hopeful.
Khanna withdrew his endorsement and called for him to drop out two hours after the report came out.
“These allegations are very serious and credible,” Khanna wrote on X. “Graham Platner should drop out from the race.”
A Fox News poll, conducted June 23-27 — occurring before the sexual assault claims but after other allegations arose — Collins is ahead of Platner by three points, 50 to 47%
Platner previously has lost confidence from Democrats after ex-girlfriends reported alleged women-hating behavior from him, leaked sexting scandals, old offensive Reddit posts and a now-covered up tattoo that resembles a Nazi symbol.
