Graham Platner, the oyster farmer turned insurgent candidate who won Maine's Democratic Senate primary, suspended his campaign after a former girlfriend accused him of severely sexually assaulting her in 2021. Platner denies the allegation as “categorically untrue.” He plans to file paperwork to withdraw, leaving Maine Democrats until July 27 to select a replacement to face Republican incumbent Susan Collins in a race widely seen as pivotal to Senate control.
Party plans nominating convention
The state party announced on Wednesday it would hold a nominating convention to pick a new candidate. Platner won more primary votes than any Democratic Senate candidate in state history and energized a coalition that establishment favorite Governor Janet Mills never matched. Some argue his successor must carry forward that energy, while others say the new nominee should be independent to avoid being seen as his protege. Whoever takes the position will have little time to prepare for a general election against Collins, a five-term incumbent.
Potential candidates
Troy Jackson, a logger and former state senate president, ran for governor this year with Bernie Sanders' backing before losing the primary. Shortly after Platner's announcement, Jackson declared his candidacy, saying, “I'm in. And we're going to defeat Susan Collins.” He has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to form a Senate exploratory committee. Congressman Ro Khanna, a leading Platner ally, publicly endorsed Jackson, describing him as “someone who has spent his life standing up for these progressive values.”
Valli Geiger, a state representative from Rockland and early Platner supporter, said Platner asked her to run as his replacement. She told Maine's Total Coverage that Platner called her and offered to back her, saying she had “been with this movement since the beginning.” Geiger accepted his support but wants the state party to run an “open” and “robust” process rather than have a nominee handed down.
Nirav Shah, former director of Maine's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, who became a familiar face during the Covid pandemic, announced his candidacy on Thursday. Shah ran and lost in the gubernatorial primary this year. He said his team received “hundreds of encouraging messages” urging him to run and called for “a transparent and open” selection process, including at least one televised debate among contenders.
Shenna Bellows, Maine's secretary of state and another defeated gubernatorial primary candidate, lost to Collins in the 2014 Senate race by over 30 points. She said she would “seriously consider entering this race,” arguing she was “uniquely fit to unite Mainers and defeat Susan Collins in just over 100 days.”
Jordan Wood, a former congressional chief of staff, originally challenged Platner for the Senate nomination before switching to run in the second congressional district, where he ultimately lost. He announced on Thursday he would run for the Senate seat.
Paige Loud, a social worker who received about 10% of the vote in the second district primary, has filed paperwork to run for the Senate. She said if Platner withdrew she was “prepared to carry forward the same pro-worker, anti-imperialist, anti-billionaire vision” from her congressional campaign. Her team said she was “being proactive in keeping options open for supporters across the state who have voiced a desire for a woman to be considered as the nominee.”
Dan Kleban, co-founder of Maine Beer Company, ran in the Senate primary before dropping out earlier this year. On Wednesday, he announced he's “in to replace Platner,” casting the race as a referendum on Collins: “For too long, this race has been about everything but Susan Collins's repeated failures to do what's right for Maine.” He cited her votes to confirm judges who overturned federal abortion protections and her support for Donald Trump's economic agenda. Kleban said he had been “overwhelmed by the countless calls from Mainers” encouraging him to run and called for “an open, transparent process” to choose the nominee.
David Costello, a former Maryland state official who placed third in the June Senate primary, wrote on Facebook that he was “back in” the race if Platner withdrew.
Janet Mills, the sitting governor who suspended her own Senate primary campaign before the vote, is not being discussed as a viable replacement despite her national profile. She was being trounced in campaign spending and polling ahead of the primary vote. She has clarified that she only suspended “active campaigning.”
