Maine Democrats scramble to replace Platner after Senate race withdrawal

Graham Platner’s withdrawal from Maine’s U.S. Senate race on July 9 sent Democrats into a compressed fight to keep one of their best pickup chances alive. The party now has to decide whether it can replace the winner of the June 9 primary fast enough to preserve a ballot line in a race that could help determine control of the Senate.

Platner’s departure came after a rape or sexual assault allegation from a former girlfriend, which he denied, and after earlier reports involving a separate sexual assault allegation, past relationship misconduct claims and controversy over a tattoo with Nazi associations. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Maine Democratic leaders had already pushed him to step aside, saying the party had to hold candidates to the “highest standard” and that “transparency is of the utmost importance” as it moved toward a replacement.

Maine election law gives Democrats only a narrow window. If a nominee withdraws by 5 p.m. on July 13, the party has until July 27 to name a substitute. If Platner were to exit after that cutoff, the ballot slot could not be filled. The Maine Secretary of State also sets a 5 p.m. August 25 deadline for declared write-in candidates in the November 3 general election, leaving little room for any alternate path to the ballot.

The Maine Democratic Party said more than 100 state committee members backed a nominating convention plan if Platner left the race, and later accounts said the convention would include roughly 600 elected delegates. Party leaders have not settled on a final replacement process, and options remain under discussion between delegates and the state committee. Ryan Fecteau, the Maine House speaker, said he hoped the process would be transparent and fair.

The field of possible substitutes has already started to take shape around names with statewide or legislative experience. Those under discussion include Dan Kleban, former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former public health chief Nirav Shah and former House Speaker Sara Gideon. Sen. Maggie Hassan has said the allegations against Platner deserved scrutiny.

The political stakes are high because Susan Collins ran uncontested in the Republican primary, and Maine is widely viewed as one of Democrats’ best chances to flip a GOP-held seat. Platner’s primary win was already certified by AP at 6:23 p.m. on June 9, after he defeated the field despite the surrounding controversy. Now Democrats are trying to replace a nominee they just chose, a sign of how thin their bench and how fragile their nomination process can look in a statewide race with Senate control on the line.