All eyes have turned to a handful of Maine Democrats who could take the mantle as Graham Platner, the party’s current Senate nominee, faces growing pressure to withdraw from the marquee race over a sexual assault allegation.
Politico reported Monday that Jenny Racicot, who says she dated Platner on and off for several years, alleged that he raped her in 2021. Platner said “any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false” in a direct-to-camera video to his followers, but the populist oyster farmer acknowledged his campaign was “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.”
The latest allegation, which adds to a string of other controversies around the political newcomer’s bid, prompted the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm and other former backers of Platner, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), to withdraw their support and call for Platner to step aside.
If Platner drops out by Monday, Maine’s Democratic Party could still field a new candidate ahead of November, even though the primary has passed. The state party would then have until July 27 to choose its replacement candidate.
Here’s a look at some of the Maine Democrats floated as potential replacements for Platner:
Troy Jackson
Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger who was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in Maine’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, is openly considering a bid to replace Platner.
Jackson filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to form a Senate exploratory committee on Tuesday. He previously told the Bangor Daily News he believes he is the “best person” to fill Platner’s shoes.
“This is something I never considered, but if Graham’s stepping away, I am very, very interested and think I’m the best person to replace him,” Jackson told the outlet on Monday, shortly before he called on Platner to withdraw from the race.
Platner, however, endorsed Jackson in the governor’s race, which could become a liability for Jackson should he choose to run for the upper chamber.
Jackson previously campaigned on universal free childcare for people who made less than 125 percent of the state’s average income and creating a property tax commission to tackle rising rates.
During the last stretch of the campaign, Jackson fielded attacks over his record on abortion, which is one of Democrats’ top attack lines against Collins.
“They’re flooding the airwaves and putting hundreds of thousands of dollars lying to people about my record on abortion when I spent the past decade fighting to protect abortion rights,” Jackson told supporters in response to the attacks, noting legislation passed when he was in the state Legislature that expanded access to the medical procedure.
Nirav Shah
Jackson is not the only former Democratic gubernatorial candidate who might jockey to succeed Platner.
Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Nirav Shah, who finished second to Democratic nominee Hannah Pingree, a former Maine House speaker, in the governor’s race, offered himself for consideration in a Tuesday social media post.
“Right now, our number one priority must be defeating Senator Susan Collins,” Shah said. “I have been having conversations with my wife, my team, and Mainers across the state about what comes next and evaluating whether I should enter the Senate race. As the Maine Democratic Party determines the nominating process, one thing is clear: it should be transparent and open.”
Shah, who also committed to a televised debate should he run, has touted his role helming the Maine CDC during the pandemic, noting he was later appointed to serve at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as principal deputy director during the Biden administration.
Campaign finance data from the Maine Ethics Commission shows Shah as the fourth highest fundraiser in the state, behind Pingree and other Maine governor candidates — including healthcare executive Jonathan Bush, who is the nephew of former President George H.W. Bush and cousin of former President George W. Bush, and businessman Angus King III, who is the son of Sen. Angus King Jr. (I-Maine).
Shah faced attacks during the primary over the issue of school choice and special interests supporting his gubernatorial campaign.
But Shah’s campaign manager, Kayla vanWieringen, has disputed the idea that he is in favor of privatizing education, saying in a statement that Shah is “vehemently opposed to privatizing our education system or diverting a single public dollar to private schools,” according to the Maine Morning Star.
In an op-ed Shah penned in the Portland Press Herald last month, he refuted other allegations waged against him, disputing that he worked for a “union-busting firm” or that he had accepted contributions from industries like private equity or Big Pharma.
Shah ultimately lost his race after Pingree, Jackson and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows urged their voters to rank one another as voters’ top three picks in an effort to box out Shah in Maine’s ranked-choice voting system.
Shenna Bellows
Bellows, who as secretary of state will likely be front-and-center for procedural changes if Platner drops out, is another potential contender.
A former state senator and executive director for the Maine branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Bellows has served as the state’s top election official since 2021. She was heavily involved in ballot initiatives around same-day voter registration and marriage equality — and she’s the first woman to hold the office in Maine.
She made headlines in the 2024 presidential race for attempts to remove President Trump from the Pine Tree State’s ballot.
This cycle, she ran for governor, pledging to stand up to Trump and his administration, placing fourth in the June primary.
Unlike Shah and Jackson, Bellows hasn’t directly expressed interest in trying for the Senate if Platner drops out, but she swiftly called for him to step aside after the latest reporting.
“While Graham ignited a powerful movement to challenge the status quo, given the seriousness of the allegations, he needs to step down,” Bellows said on the social platform X.
Bellows faced off against Collins for the Senate before, losing by a landslide in the 2014 red-wave midterms. But, in the decade since, Bellows has used her position to become a voice of the Trump resistance in blue states — while Collins fights to hold on amid Trump’s poor approval numbers.
Dan Kleban
Maine Beer Company co-founder Dan Kleban was another short-lived Senate candidate this year, campaigning for just a month before dropping out to endorse Gov. Janet Mills (D) for the upper chamber.
Cook Political Report notes Kleban could offer an “outsider candidate” pitch that might “channel the working class message of Platner without the baggage — and hasn’t just lost a race for governor too.”
Kleban hasn’t directly expressed interest, but he joined the chorus of Democrats calling for Platner’s exit.
“For the sake of our state, he needs to step aside immediately. Mainers deserve a Senator who will fight for them against the DC establishment while also doing what’s right,” Kleban said on X.
Jordan Wood
Jordan Wood initially ran for the Senate this cycle, and he could throw his name back into the ring if Platner exits.
Wood, a former chief of staff to ex-Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), pivoted to run for the House after Rep. Jared Golden’s (D-Maine) retirement announcement in the state’s 2nd Congressional District. He came in third in the primary — behind state Sen. Joe Baldacci, brother of former Gov. John Baldacci (D) — as state Auditor Matt Dunlap won the Democratic nod.
Notably, neither Golden nor Baldacci appear interested in becoming a Platner replacement, according to Cook Political Report’s analysis of the potential contenders.
The analysis suggested that Shah, Jackson, Bellows and Kleban were the top four contenders to replace the progressive if he does drop out — but it’s uncharted territory for Maine Democrats, and any name could be in the mix.
Maine Democrats also need to figure out exactly how they’d choose a replacement. The New York Times reported that officials have floated a range of options, from a “pop-up convention” to a statewide caucus “to effectively redo” the primary election.
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5957082-graham-platner-maine-senate-candidate-replacements/
