Democrats scramble to save Maine race after Platner implosion

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Democrats are scrambling to save what seemed like a winnable Senate race in Maine after Graham Platner’s implosion in the wake of a new rape allegation against him.

While Platner has denied the accusation and has yet to end his campaign, he is bleeding supporters and his days look numbered.

His most prominent backer, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), has even called on him to withdraw from the race, though the progressive senator took longer than others to issue a statement.

Democrats see their best hope at defeating Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in November at this point as getting Platner out of the race quickly and finding someone else to stand in his place. Some say Platner risks not only the Maine Senate race, but others across the country.

“He’s not only endangering our winning Collins’s seat. If he doesn’t get out, the Republicans are going to shift resources from Maine to Ohio to Alaska to North Carolina to Texas to other races, and he’s putting all of them in danger, too. It’s not just us,” Peggy Schaffer, a former vice chair for the Maine Democratic Party who backed Gov. Janet Mills (D) in the Senate primary, told The Hill in an interview.

“Platner’s campaign is essentially on life support after Jenny Racicot told Politico and CNN in separate interviews that Platner raped her one night in 2021 while intoxicated. She said she’d dated Platner at the time on and off for several years,” she added.

Platner has denied any wrongdoing in statements to Politico and in a direct-to-camera video he posted on social media to his followers, calling the accusations “troubling, serious and false allegations.”

“Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false,” he said in his video to supporters.

But in an acknowledgement of the political headwinds ahead, the oyster farmer told viewers that his campaign was “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.”

Within hours, a number of Democrats and groups who had once backed Platner called on him to immediately drop out of the race. The Senate Democratic leadership made clear they would not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remained on the ballot.

Several Democrats have already indicated interest or said they’re exploring their options, including Nirav Shah, former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director; Troy Jackson, former Senate president; and Jordan Wood, who previously served as chief of staff to former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.)

Shah and Jackson previously ran for Maine governor and lost, while Wood previously ran for the Senate seat before later trying his hand at Rep. Jared Golden’s (D-Maine) seat in the 2nd Congressional District.

Former Senate candidate Dan Kleban and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, another former gubernatorial candidate, have also been floated as potential replacements.

A source familiar with Golden’s thinking told The Hill that the congressman has been fielding calls about a possible Senate bid but has expressed disinterest in pursuing it.

Some Democrats are projecting confidence, arguing the Senate contest is salvageable if Platner withdraws before July 13, which is the deadline candidates have to drop out so that the state party can nominate their replacement. The Maine Democratic Party would then have until July 27 to choose their fill-in candidate.

“They have time,” said veteran Senate Democratic strategist Steve Jarding. “It’s not a big window, but the time is there.”

“My recommendation would be, find the candidate that best fires those people up, that best picks up that mantle and says, ‘Different name, but same perspective. Same belief. I’m going to go and shake that place up,’” he said, referring to Platner’s supporters.

Democrats also argue that this cycle is different from 2020 when former Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon (D) ran and lost to Collins.

“That was a COVID year — a campaign year that was unprecedented and complicated,” said David Farmer, who served as deputy chief of staff to former Gov. John Baldacci (D).

“We often fight the last battle and not the next one,” Farmer added. “The economy’s in a different position. Trump is in a midterm election cycle where the party of the president typically fares poorly. He is unpopular in Maine. The affordability crisis, the price of gasoline, the war with Iran, you know, these are all factors that make this a unique election.”

Schaffer, too, suggested that all was not lost for the party despite Platner’s candidacy. She suggested the Democrats who ran for Maine governor and Golden’s seat but lost their primaries were best primed to mount a late campaign, noting their prior organizing and fundraising apparatuses.

Yet, time is ticking for Platner to officially withdraw his Senate bid, and his reluctance to end his campaign has drawn confusion and frustration from members of the party who see the Maine Senate race as a must-win for Democrats if they ever hope to flip control of the upper chamber in Congress this fall.

Members of the party believe that if Platner stays in the race, Democrats have a significantly harder time flipping Collins’s seat.

“Yes, there’s always a way,” Farmer said, but added “it would be very, very difficult to imagine a scenario … where Sen. Collins could be defeated if Platner remains on the ballot without support of the party or his national backers, even amongst the grassroots.”

Organizers could technically mount a write-in Senate campaign by Aug. 25 if Platner ultimately decides to stay in the race, though that could cause further headaches for the party.

“Let’s work on this one first,” Schaffer quipped. “Let’s cross that bridge if we get to it and hope we don’t get to it.”

Tags

Bernie Sanders

Janet Mills

Jared Golden

John Baldacci

Katie Porter

Nirav Shah

Sara Gideon

Shenna Bellows

Steve Jarding

Susan Collins

Troy Jackson

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