Now-former Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at the primary election night event on June 9 in Blue Hill, Maine. Platner officially dropped out of the race on July 10 following rape allegations by a former romantic partner that he denies.
CJ Gunther/Getty Images
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CJ Gunther/Getty Images
Graham Platner, the Maine Democratic Senate candidate, is officially out of the race.
Maine’s Secretary of State said Platner filed the necessary paperwork to withdraw his candidacy two days after announcing he planned to do so following a rape allegation by a former romantic partner. Platner denies the accusation.
The Maine Democratic Party has until July 27 to elect Platner’s replacement.
In his withdrawal notice, Platner said that “people are desperate for change” and that is why they voted “for a new kind of politics” by making him the Democratic candidate. He expressed his gratitude to those who supported his campaign and said he will continue to fight for “the movement we have built together and the future we believe in.”
He ended his ad with a strong statement aligned with the progressive platform.
“F*ck ICE. Free Palestine. Hearts up.”
Platner announced his plan to withdraw from the race in an 11-minute video he posted to social media on July 8. He said he had no choice but to suspend his campaign, citing that it was no longer financially viable.
“We’re going to lose our ability to fundraise. We’re going to lose our ability to access voter data. We’re going to lose all the things that any campaign needs at the basic level just to function,” he said.
Platner added that dropping out of school was not an admission of guilt. Rather, the decision, he said, is to keep the progressive movement alive in Maine to defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November. Platner blamed the “political establishment” for his downfall and argued that the goal was to force him out of the race.
“We built a campaign. We got involved in electoral politics. We motivated people. We came together. We did it the way they told us we should make changes and we won. And now they’re not going to let us have it. Not if it’s me,” he said.
Many powerful Democrats and progressives, including independent Senator Bernie Sanders, urged Platner to resign.
Platner has had to respond to a cascade of scandals since he launched his Senate bid. Despite this, he took the nomination in the June 9 primary, garnering more than 150,000 votes, more than any other Democratic Senate candidate in Maine history.
Platner ran on a progressive platform focused on affordability, universal healthcare, and eliminating money and corporate influence from politics. During her campaign, she generated undeniable enthusiasm, something the Maine Democratic Party will have to harness if it hopes to beat Collins in the general election.
Several people have already launched campaigns to replace Platner, including former state Sen. Troy Jackson and former CDC official Nirav Shah, both of whom ran unsuccessful runs for governor.
Platner called for the replacement process to reflect “the Mainers who came out on June 9 and showed that they are desperate for a different kind of politics.”
“We asked for real democracy and we did it the right way. And we won. But now the ball is in the court of the Democratic establishment,” he added.
The Maine Democratic Party said it intends to hold a new nominating convention at which about 600 delegates will choose Platner’s successor. Candidates have until July 15 to declare their intention to seek the nomination and gather signatures from at least 8 of Maine’s 16 counties. Party leaders added that they will make the nomination process public and transparent.