{"id":1966,"date":"2026-07-08T23:20:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T18:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=1966"},"modified":"2026-07-08T23:20:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T18:20:38","slug":"what-to-know-about-graham-platner-and-the-maine-us-senate-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=1966","title":{"rendered":"What to know about Graham Platner and the Maine US Senate race"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \"><span class=\"oyrPY qlwaB AGxeB  \">SCARBOROUGH, Maine &#8212; <\/span>Democrat Graham Platner has so far been mum on whether he&#8217;ll drop out of the Maine U.S. Senate race after a former girlfriend <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/graham-platner-maine-assault-senate-061e18bdd180928bbcd94b18a52f4ec9\">accused him of sexual assault<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Platner, who denies the allegation, has faced considerable pressure from his own party to quit the race. The first-time candidate also has been accused of trying to influence how his replacement is selected \u2014 a claim he also denies. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The question marks around Platner have left a crucial U.S. Senate race unsettled just months before the November midterm elections. The Maine Democratic Party, which by law is responsible for naming a replacement, has not said how it plans on going about selecting a possible successor. Meanwhile, potential contenders have already begun <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/maine-graham-platner-election-5ce04e85fc3f43a3faa90366dc3cd3a3\">teasing their interest<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Here&#8217;s what we know about the Maine Senate race and what could be next:<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">According to Maine law, there&#8217;s a narrow provision for replacing general election candidates. Platner would need to ,step aside voluntarily by 5 p.m. July 13 before any other contender can be considered. So far, Platner has only committed to pausing his campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Should he quit the race, the law then says the Maine Democratic Party has the authority to choose a replacement, which must be done by July 27.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">However, what that process would actually look like remains unknown. It could come down to a vote by the state committee, a caucus, or even some sort of state political convention.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">It&#8217;s incredibly rare for a general election candidate to bow out of a race, in Maine or elsewhere, meaning party officials are scrambling to complete a plan if and when Platner announces he&#8217;ll withdraw.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The Maine Democratic Party said Tuesday it will make the process public as soon as Platner officially withdraws. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">A key question surrounding whether and how Platner is replaced has come down to just how much leverage the oyster farmer and Marine veteran has in this situation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">On Tuesday, the Maine Democratic Party&#8217;s executive director, Devon Murphy-Anderson, released a statement accusing Platner\u2019s campaign of repeatedly trying to \u201cput their thumb on the scale\u201d in determining the next Democratic nominee. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cWe have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner\u2019s team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, nor in determining what this process looks like,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Platner&#8217;s team responded with a statement saying \u201cat no point has the campaign tried to \u2018put its finger on the scale'&#8221; but instead is trying to understand the process. Thousands of Maine residents voted and volunteered for Platner, a progressive who outlasted establishment-backed Gov. Janet Mills, which the campaign believes should count in the decision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">One possible contender, Nirav Shah, former director of Maine\u2019s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, has said he was \u201cevaluating\u201d whether to join the race. Shah said he\u2019s been in contact with the Maine Democratic Party about ensuring a possible replacement process is based on \u201copenness, transparency and robustness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Another possible replacement is Troy Jackson, Maine\u2019s former state Senate president, who unsuccessfully ran to be the Democratic nominee for governor earlier this year with the backing of Platner and Our Revolution, the political organization started by Sen. Bernie Sanders. Jackson filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday to launch a Senate exploratory committee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Jordan Wood, a former U.S. Senate candidate who then switched to run for Maine\u2019s 2nd District and lost, posted Tuesday that he was \u201ccontinuing conversations\u201d with voters about joining the race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Other names circulating include Shenna Bellows, the current Maine secretary of state; Dan Kleban, founder of Maine Beer Co.; and Hannah Pingree, now Maine&#8217;s Democratic nominee for governor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Platner\u2019s campaigned galvanized hundreds of volunteers around the state. This week, they\u2019ve been expressing disappointment about the behavior Platner is accused of and pondering the right course of action.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Many have called for him to drop out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Paul Attardo, 64, of Scarborough, said he can\u2019t continue supporting Platner after the allegation, though he still has a sign promoting the candidate at the end of his driveway. He called the accusation \u201cdisappointing\u201d as well as \u201cindisputably sincere,\u201d and said the party needs to get to work finding a replacement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The scenario reminded Attardo of the hasty replacement of Joe Biden during the 2024 election campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cWe rally behind somebody, and not unlike the Biden administration, when everybody rallied behind Joe Biden, at the eleventh hour that failed,&#8221; he said. \u201cI sort of feel we\u2019re in a similar boat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">___<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">Kruesi reported from Providence, R.I. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SCARBOROUGH, Maine &#8212; Democrat Graham Platner has so far been mum on whether he&#8217;ll drop out of the Maine U.S. Senate race after a former girlfriend accused him of sexual assault. Platner, who denies the allegation, has faced considerable pressure from his own party to quit the race. The first-time candidate also has been accused&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/23e84fd7-edf6-4cec-b2cd-e739b94b3df9\/wirestory_48d472ac4a043792032f3e3f5a33ef1b_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}