That means Maine Democrats don’t have a Senate nominee in the competitive contest — and they have just over two weeks to decide how to proceed before the window to put forward a replacement closes on July 27.
Platner, who won the Democratic nomination last month, maintained that recent accusations of sexual assault and misconduct by two women he dated are “all false.”
“We're not doing it because of the allegations,” Platner said in an 11-minute video announcing his decision to end the campaign Wednesday. “We're doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power”
His exit now has Democrats scrambling to find a new nominee to take on Collins in a contest that could prove decisive in clinching the upper chamber’s majority this fall. Maine Democrats announced plans for a nominating convention later this month, but questions remain about whether Platner’s successor will be able to harness the energy from his insurgent candidacy.
“As we embark on this process together, we are going to be guided by those ideals that we share in that many of us voted for when we cast our ballot for Graham Platner,” Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson told MSNBC Wednesday, stating his withdrawal was “the right thing to do.”
Despite vehemently denying sexual misconduct allegations, Platner acknowledged that the mounting controversies blunted the momentum of his populist campaign in the Pine Tree State.
“We believe that for the movement to continue, it can’t be me, and for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations,” he said, referring to himself and his wife. “This is incredibly difficult because I know that some will think it’s an admission of guilt, and it most certainly is not.”
He suspended his campaign after Politico reported this week that a woman alleged Platner raped her in 2021. Another woman alleged to The Washington Post that Platner removed condoms without her consent during sex.
Platner suggested that these claims came to light because of a timeline that, under Maine law, gives the Democratic Party the power to nominate a replacement for the general election if Platner dropped out by Monday.
“There is a reason this is happening now. I only have until July 13th until I am officially the nominee. This was the last week to try to get me off of the ballot and that's why this is occurring,” he said.
Platner had weathered a series of other controversies along the campaign trail, including revelations that he sent sexually explicit messages to multiple women early on in his marriage and reports of problematic behavior with past romantic partners. He also faced backlash over a now-covered chest tattoo that resembled Nazi insignia and since-deleted Reddit posts.
He has denied all allegations of physical roughness with former partners and insisted that he was unaware of the tattoo’s likeness to a Totenkopf. He’s openly admitted to struggling with depression, drinking and post-traumatic stress disorder linked to his military deployments.
But the latest allegations tipped the scales for his candidacy, prompting top Democrats, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) who championed Platner, to withdraw their endorsements and call for him to exit the race.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who chair the Democrats’ Senate campaign arm, called on Platner to “immediately withdraw” and let Maine Democrats choose a new candidate.
On Wednesday, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) announced the creation of a new nominee fund following Platner’s announcement.
In his exit video, Platner blasted the Democratic establishment, much of which had initially rallied behind primary rival Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) before she dropped out of the contest this spring, suggesting that they “would rather see Susan Collins win than have me be the next senator from Maine.”
The Maine race is considered one of Democrats’ best opportunities to flip a Senate seat this cycle — which is why some in the party grew increasingly wary about Platner’s viability in a showdown against Collins, the longest-serving Republican woman in the Senate.
Meanwhile, the GOP has embraced Platner’s controversies to hammer the rest of his party. A spokesperson for Republicans’ Senate campaign arm projected confidence Wednesday that Collins will prevail over Democrats “regardless of who they anoint next.”
Shortly before Platner announced his exit, the Maine Democratic Party said it would hold a nominating convention later this month. But infighting over what exactly this process will look like has roiled the party in recent days.
Murphy-Anderson on Tuesday accused Platner’s campaign of putting its thumb on the scales in the selection process, while the former nominee’s campaign manager Ben Chin reportedly alleged the DSCC had sought to keep deliberations on a new nominee behind “closed doors.” A DSCC spokesperson called this allegation “false.”
Maine Democrats convened special meetings on Wednesday to put together a process for a nominating convention, Murphy-Anderson told MSNBC, passing a plan with 82 percent support.
She said that more details are forthcoming but divulged that prospective candidates would be required “to talk to Maine voters in some way that's going to qualify them to be our U.S. Senate nominee, beyond just declaring their intent,” likely through signature-gathering and petitioning.
Murphy-Anderson also stressed that the state party is “completely in charge” of the process, shrugging off Platner’s suggestion that Schumer or the national Senate campaign apparatus would be playing a role.
Former Maine Democratic Party Chair Bev Uhlenhake speculated in an interview with The Hill that the convention could use a virtual voting process given the tight timeline, adding that it would likely also have an in-person component.
Still, several Democrats have already thrown their hats in the ring to replace Platner or signaled interest in the race.
Former Democratic gubernatorial candidates Troy Jackson, Nirav Shah and Shenna Bellows, as well as Dan Kleban, who dropped out of the Senate race last year, and unsuccessful House candidate Jordan Wood, are possible contenders.
“There is a powerful movement of working class people in the state of Maine, and millions more across America who are ready to send a progressive fighter to the Senate. I’ve been fighting for that movement my whole life — and I’m sure as hell not backing down now, when this fight is needed most,” Jackson, a former Maine Senate president, wrote on social media after Platner’s announcement. “I’m in.”
Shah, the former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director, praised the women who came forward and said that Platner "made the right decision” to step down. He also offered himself up for consideration in a Tuesday social media post, laying out a hypothetical platform if he were to run.
Kleban also underscored his interest after Platner announced his exit.
“Mainers deserve a senator who will fight for them against the DC establishment while also doing what’s right. I plan to be that senator,” the Maine Brewing Co. co-founder said.
Platner on Wednesday said that he wouldn’t try to dictate who ought to replace him or how it would happen but insisted that decisions “should not be made in back rooms” and that “the next Democratic senator from Maine needs to belong to the people of Maine” now that the primary’s passed.
"My name might be on the ballot right now, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine."
