Platner officially withdraws from Maine Senate race

Democrat Graham Platner has formally withdrawn from the Maine Senate race, allowing members of the party to choose their new nominee this month.

“I write to formally withdraw my candidacy for United States Senate,” the progressive oyster farmer wrote in a letter posted to social media Friday, later adding that “my name may have been on the ballot, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine.”

The Maine Secretary of State’s office confirmed receipt of his withdrawal.

“Because the candidate officially withdrew before 5 p.m. of the 2nd Monday in July (July 13, 2026), his name will not appear on the ballot, and his political party may replace him,” the office said in a release Friday.

Maine Democrats now have until July 27 to formally nominate their new Senate candidate as the party looks to oust Republican Susan Collins (Maine) in November.

The news is a relief to the party who saw Platner’s imploding candidacy as a detriment to their efforts of flipping Collins’s seat.

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