Maine state Rep. Valli Geiger, a Rockland Democrat who previously worked as a nurse and served as mayor, has been thrust into the national spotlight after saying Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner urged her to think about stepping in for him on the ballot in Maine’s Senate contest.
Geiger has not been selected as a replacement nominee. Still, her name surfaced in the fast-moving Maine Senate shake-up after she told local station WMTW that Platner phoned her Monday night, described her as a “fighter” and asked if he could suggest her name.
Platner said Wednesday evening that he was suspending his campaign.
Following her account of Platner’s call, Geiger wrote Tuesday that she would not “throw Graham under the bus.” At the same time, she said she would not “slander or accuse” Jenny Racicot, the woman who has accused Platner of rape, “of anything more than telling the truth as she experienced it.”
By Wednesday, local news organizations reported that Geiger said Platner had pushed her to consider a run if he exited the race. Platner has rejected that account.
Geiger is serving her third term as a Democratic state representative from Rockland, according to her legislative biography. She represents a coastal Maine House district that covers Rockland, Criehaven Township, Matinicus Isle Plantation, the Muscle Ridge Islands, North Haven and part of Owls Head. The biography lists her committee assignments as the Labor Committee and the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee.
Before winning a seat in the Legislature, Geiger spent six years on the Rockland City Council, including one year as mayor. She also served four years on the Rockland Comprehensive Planning Commission, chairing the panel for three of those years.
Her biography says she earned a master’s degree in sustainable design and constructed her own passive-solar, net-zero-energy home. It also notes that she is a former nurse at Pen Bay Medical Center who later moved into health policy and administration, holding roles that included director of the Healthreach Hospice program and clinical director for Federally Qualified Health Centers across Maine.
Geiger’s connection to Platner predates the latest replacement speculation.
Local reporting has described her as a close Platner supporter, and WMTW reported she previously stood with him and credited him with helping secure funding for rape kit tracking in Maine.
In her Facebook post responding to Racicot’s allegation, Geiger wrote that Racicot’s story “seems credible” but added that “none of us knows the truth nor will we ever.”
She also described Platner as “a man becoming a better man” and said she had hoped he would lead the political movement his campaign had built and will not “throw Graham under the bus.”
In the post, Geiger also praised Platner’s “passion for economic populism” and said she had granted him “an enormous amount of grace” for his behavior during what she described as his “dark years” after multiple deployments.
The Maine state representative is not the only Democrat whose name has surfaced as Maine Democrats prepare for the possibility that Platner exits the race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Several Democrats have expressed interest or are considering bids, including former gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah.
Under Maine law, if Platner formally withdraws as the Democratic nominee by 5 p.m. on July 13, the Maine Democratic Party can replace him on the general election ballot by selecting a new nominee through its party process, with the replacement required to be chosen by July 27.
