Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner has said he is considering his options within the wake of a sexual assault allegation that he denies. However Democrats in Maine and nationally are calling on him to withdraw from the race towards Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins.
How his alternative may very well be chosen if he does withdraw and who would possibly run in his place has change into a firestorm amongst Democrats.
How may Maine Democrats choose one other candidate?
The Maine Democratic Celebration has known as on Platner to depart the race. If he does by July 13 at 5 p.m. ET, the get together has till July 27 to appoint a alternative. The state of Maine itself wouldn’t maintain new primaries.
Senate candidate from Maine Graham Platner speaks throughout a marketing campaign occasion on the Veterans of International Wars Put up 6859, Might 17, 2026, in Portland, Maine.
Joe Raedle/Getty Pictures
However the get together has lots of flexibility as to the way it chooses any alternative. One supply acquainted with Maine politics instructed ABC Information that the get together’s state committee would vote on who may change into the alternative candidate.
The state Democratic get together has not responded to ABC Information’ request for remark.
One other supply who’s working in Maine politics instructed ABC Information that it’s attainable the get together may convene delegates to vote for a brand new candidate — just like how the get together used to appoint candidates at state get together conventions. The supply added that it’s unclear if the occasion can be in-person or digital, or how the delegate vote can be taken, similar to by a majority vote or ranked-choice voting.
The prospect of the get together choosing a candidate additionally raises the potential of a backlash if Maine voters really feel both that the candidate doesn’t characterize the beliefs they voted for or that get together insiders are selecting for them.
“My hope is that the method is clear and honest,” Ryan Fecteau, speaker of the Maine Home of Representatives, instructed ABC Information on Tuesday.
Who would possibly attempt to substitute Platner?
There have been two different candidates on the Senate main poll with Platner within the June 9 main, though Maine Democrats are largely not selling them as options to Platner.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who suspended her marketing campaign earlier than the first, is essentially not being floated as a viable alternative candidate. ABC Information has reached out to Mills’ workplace.
Gov. Janet Mills reacts after difficult President Donald Trump over federal regulation on the difficulty of trans girls in sports activities as Trump addressed a gathering of governors on the White Home, Feb. 21, 2025.
Win Mcnamee/Getty Pictures
Former Maryland state official David Costello positioned third within the main. In a brief post on Facebook on Tuesday, Costello confirmed that he’d attempt for the seat if he can: “I’m again in, if Graham Platner withdraws.”
Different main Maine Democrats who ran for different places of work are indicating they may take into account making an attempt for the Senate seat.
Troy Jackson, a logger and former candidate in Maine’s Democratic gubernatorial main and a progressive, has been floated as a candidate who may attraction to Platner’s voters. He’s a former state senator and was the Senate president from 2018 to 2024.
Troy Jackson, who’s operating for Governor of Maine, speaks throughout a city corridor a couple of Imaginative and prescient for a Wholesome Society, Might 20, 2026, in Portland, Maine.
Joe Raedle/Getty Pictures
A supply confirmed that Jackson has been receiving immense outreach about the potential of changing Platner and that he’s . The supply added that it is smart for him to hold the “progressive torch,” and that Jackson is coming from a main the place he had an infrastructure in place and can be prepared to leap in.
A marketing campaign committee known as the Troy Jackson Senate Exploratory Committee filed a statement of organization with the Federal Elections Fee on Tuesday. The Bangor Every day Information was first to report concerning the submitting.
Shenna Bellows is Maine’s first feminine Secretary of State and was additionally a candidate within the Democratic gubernatorial main. A supply near Bellows instructed ABC Information that she has gotten calls about probably operating for the Senate seat.
Maine Secretary of State and candidate for Governor Shenna Bellows speaks throughout a Might Day rally organized by native unions, Might 1, 2026, exterior Metropolis Corridor in Portland, Maine.
Graeme Sloan/Getty Pictures
Nirav Shah, who confirmed he is contemplating a bid, was within the operating to be Maine’s governor and led within the polls previous to the Democratic runoff. Shah confirmed on his X account that he would take into account a Senate bid and that he’s been receiving immense outreach to run if Platner withdraws. He instructed ABC Information by cellphone on Tuesday that he has not declared his candidacy however has an infrastructure in place to run a marketing campaign if he does enter the race.
Shah is an lawyer and healthcare govt and oversaw the Maine Heart for Illness Management and Prevention in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Nirav D. Shah, director of the Maine Heart for Illness Management and Prevention, speaks throughout a press convention about COVID-19 at Maine Emergency Administration Company in Augusta, Maine.
Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald by way of Getty Pictures
One other potential candidate, Dan Kleban, founding father of the Maine Beer Firm, was an early candidate within the Democratic Senate main however finally suspended his marketing campaign and endorsed Mills.
A supply near Kleban instructed ABC Information on Tuesday that he has been getting calls and is being inspired to run, and added Kleban additionally by no means endorsed Platner and saved his distance from him, that means he wouldn’t seem tied to Platner.
In an analogous boat: Jordan Wooden, who was a shedding candidate within the Democratic main for Maine’s 2nd District after initially starting a run for Senate. Wooden wrote on X on Tuesday that he was open to a bid for Senate if Platner withdrew.
A possible wildcard candidate who has not confirmed if he would take into account a bid is Rep. Jared Golden, a veteran who has represented Maine’s 2nd District since 2019. In November, Golden introduced that he wouldn’t search re-election, citing issues over the protection of his household. ABC Information has reached out to Golden’s workplace.
State Rep. Valli Geiger, a robust ally of Platner, instructed ABC Information she is in conversations about being thought of as a alternative, however hopes that the state get together will maintain an “open” and “sturdy” course of.
Geiger, who hopes the candidate would embody a progressive agenda, added that she thinks it’s “exhausting to see a means ahead” if Platner stays within the race and thinks he’s “struggling to determine if there’s a path”
“I am simply so unhappy about how issues have turned out, and there are not any winners right here. We now have misplaced an unimaginable voice that I feel had an actual likelihood to beat Susan Collins, and one can not outrun one’s previous,” Geiger mentioned.
