Category: Politics

Nirav Shah, the former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director who recently lost in the Democratic primary for governor, officially threw his name into the race to succeed Graham Platner on Thursday morning.

Like many other Democrats who are jumping in officially following Platner’s exit Wednesday evening, Shah was essentially already in the race. On Tuesday, he was doing interviews and calling for debates and an open process.

But Thursday’s comments, which were posted to social media, cemented his status as a candidate.

“Establishment politicians have failed us,” Shah said on X. “To defeat Susan Collins, we need an outsider who is not afraid to take on the broken system she has spent decades upholding.”

Before running for governor, Shah led Maine through the Covid-19 pandemic, something that has given him an incredibly high name ID statewide. He’s branded himself as a progressive, but he also has distance from Platner, who did not endorse Shah as one of his ranked-choice candidates in the gubernatorial primary.

“I’m proud to have dedicated my career to public service, and to have delivered for Mainers in our darkest times,” Shah said in his post. “Now, in this unprecedented moment, I’m ready to unite our party and fight for you once again.”

​Politics

The selection of Maine’s next Democratic Senate nominee will come down to roughly 600 people — 500 of whom haven’t been chosen yet.

Graham Platner suspended his campaign on Wednesday following POLITICO’s reporting on an allegation that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2021, which he denies. That clears the way for the Maine Democratic Party to begin the process of replacing him. Platner continued to deny the allegations on Wednesday, but said he’s leaving the race because he lost the resources needed to continue running.

Many Democrats have been preparing for Platner to exit the race, but a wide-open and unpredictable nomination process with a fast-approaching deadline means many of the details of how Platner’s replacement will be chosen remain unclear.

It comes at a crucial time for the party, which has one of its best chances to defeat GOP Sen. Susan Collins, who is the only Senate Republican running for reelection in a state won by Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

How does the process to replace a nominee work in Maine?

The party is in charge of nominating someone. As long as Platner officially files paperwork with the secretary of state’s office withdrawing his name from the ballot before Monday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time, the Maine Democratic Party has until July 27th — 19 days from now — to nominate his replacement.

Who are the candidates running to replace Platner?

Shortly after Platner suspended his campaign, former gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson, who was endorsed in that race by Sen. Bernie Sanders, announced he will seek the party’s nomination. Dan Kleban, a brewery owner in Maine, also said he’ll seek the nomination on Wednesday. Former congressional candidates Jordan Wood and Paige Loud have also said they plan to run.

Former public health official Nirav Shah and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who both ran for governor earlier this year, said in the lead-up to Platner dropping out that they were considering running to replace him.

Does the state party have a plan in place?

Shortly before Platner exited the race, Maine Democrats approved a tentative plan to hold a nominating convention before the July 27th deadline that would include roughly 600 delegates made up primarily of local party officials from around the state.

Maine Democratic Party executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson indicated in an MS NOW interview Wednesday evening that candidates may be required to collect signatures from Maine voters to be eligible for the nominating convention.

When and where will the nominating convention be?

We don’t know. The Maine Democratic Party has not announced any timing details about the convention.

How will delegates be chosen?

Each county party committee is expected to caucus prior to the state nominating convention to elect 500 convention delegates, with the remaining 100 delegates being state committee members, according to two people familiar with specific plans and granted anonymity to share them.

The state Democratic Party hasn’t provided exact details, and said in a statement on Wednesday that information would be coming soon. County chairs were scheduled to meet Thursday, and it remains unclear whether delegates will be selected by county committees themselves or through public caucuses held by those county committees.

How will delegates select their candidate?

We don’t know. The Maine Democratic Party hasn’t shared specific details on how the convention procedure will operate. The state party has some rules and procedures for state conventions available on its website, but a delegate convention to replace a nominee for U.S. Senate is uncharted waters, and the party’s rules don’t explicitly stipulate how to handle this situation. While the party has had to replace candidates for smaller races, Platner’s exit from a statewide race is unprecedented.

Will there be a debate?

We don’t know. Once candidates declare whether or not they’re running, a media network may schedule a formal debate. Or the nominating convention could provide a forum for candidates to address delegates directly. In any case, the clock is ticking to organize a televised debate in the next couple of weeks before the convention. Shah, one of the likely candidates, has already called for a televised debate.

How does Platner want the process to replace him to look?

Before Platner dropped out, his allies worked behind the scenes to try and leverage his hold on the nomination to influence the nomination process, drawing a strong rebuke from Murphy-Anderson.

Platner’s campaign manager sent a message to volunteers Wednesday morning criticizing the state party and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for “planning a potential nominating process behind closed doors,” drawing another sharp response from Murphy-Anderson as well as the DSCC.

“While we may be frustrated with Graham Platner’s continued efforts to manipulate this process, we are so thankful for his supporters and all of their efforts to defeat Susan Collins — they are a vital part of our Party and deserve to participate in an open process to select Platner’s replacement,” she said.

Platner appeared to acknowledge the accusations that he was meddling in the process in his video announcing the end of his campaign, when he urged Maine Democrats to prioritize the will of the voters in choosing his replacement.

“I’m not trying to dictate to anyone who it should be or how we get there, but I will say this: It needs to be open, transparent, and democratic,” Platner said in the video. “People in DC need to stay in DC. Decisions should not be made in back rooms by people in places of political power. Party apparatchiks are not the ones to make these decisions. These decisions need to be made in the open by the people of this state, the people who got us here.”

It is unclear whether he will attempt to influence the process publicly or behind the scenes once he exits the race.

​Politics

Dan Kleban, the Maine Beer Company founder who briefly ran for Senate last year before dropping his bid and endorsing Gov. Janet Mills in the race, relaunched his campaign Wednesday by taking early swings against GOP Sen. Susan Collins and the “DC establishment.”

“I’m glad that Graham Platner has ended his campaign. For too long, this race has not been about Susan Collins’ repeated failures to do what’s right for Maine. We need to get back to that,” Kleban said in a statement Wednesday night. “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.”

Kleban announced he was jumping back into the race in a post on Substack hours before Platner released a video saying he was suspending campaign operations. Kleban said in an interview on CNN Wednesday night that he “would not” take Platner’s endorsement if it was offered.

He also said the truncated nominating process the Maine Democratic Party will undertake to replace Plater is “not a perfect proxy for a full primary,” but that Maine voters “deserve a fair and open process that’s free of meddling from anyone from D.C. or New York.”

Kleban sought to position himself as the candidate to carry Platner’s movement forward and echoed the now-former nominee by decrying a system that’s “rigged against working-class folks.” He also said he would not vote for Chuck Schumer as Senate Democratic leader.

But Kleban stopped short of embracing Platner’s stance on Israel. When asked by CNN if he would categorize the war in Gaza as a “genocide,” Kleban did not repeat the term, instead calling it an “absolute tragedy” and saying he would condition arms sales to Israel.

​Politics

Graham Platner just dropped out of Maine’s Senate race. Some Democrats have already said they want to replace him.

A POLITICO report of a new sexual allegation against Platner on Monday set off a scramble among Maine Democrats, as they pressured the candidate to step down and weighed who could take his place to defeat GOP Sen. Susan Collins, the only Republican running in a state won by Kamala Harris this cycle. The party has long held that winning the Maine Senate race will be critical to retaking control of the upper chamber.

The steady loss of support and financial backing for Platner’s campaign — which denied the allegation — gave several progressives an opening to start their preparations.

Some, like former Senate President Troy Jackson, were more explicit than others, setting up joint fundraising committees before Platner dropped out. Others, including Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, said they would “seriously consider” entering the race if Platner suspended his campaign. Meanwhile, a few possible candidates, including Rep. Jared Golden, Maine Senate President Mattie Daughtry and actor Patrick Dempsey (yes, really) have ruled themselves out.

Now, jockeying for the nomination is expected to accelerate, with less than four months until Election Day.

State law gives the Maine Democratic Party the authority to replace Platner, and mandates that his successor must be chosen by July 27. On Wednesday, just before Platner suspended his campaign, the Maine Democratic Party approved tentative plans for a nominating convention to pick his successor.

Here’s where things stand.

Officially running

Troy Jackson

Jackson, who was a Platner ally before calling on him to step aside Monday, swiftly launched his Senate bid after Platner suspended his campaign.

“I’m in. And we’re going to defeat Susan Collins,” Jackson wrote in a post on X. “Maine deserves a Senator that will fight for working families.”

Jackson was widely speculated to jump into the race and had filed his interest in a bid with the Federal Election Commission before Wednesday.

A logger with long ties to organized labor, he’s quickly attracted attention from many of the oysterman’s progressive supporters. Our Revolution, a progressive organization founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), has already thrown its support behind Jackson.

But already, some votes from his 20-year history in the legislature are resurfacing, such as his 2009 state Senate vote against a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, giving Platner’s base a bit of pause. He later called that the “worst vote I ever took.” His closeness to Platner during the primary may also give pause to some Democrats as they choose their next nominee.

Still, as one of a number of Democrats who just lost the primary for governor, Jackson has the benefit of being able to quickly rebuild his campaign.

Dan Kleban

Kleban also announced his bid Wednesday. The 49-year-old founder of Maine Beer Company had dropped out of the Democratic Senate primary earlier this year and threw his weight behind establishment-backed Gov. Janet Mills.

“Mainers deserve a senator who will fight for them against the D.C. establishment while also doing what’s right,” Kleban said in a statement. “I plan to be that senator.”

While Kleban hasn’t served in public office, he has long been involved in Maine Democratic circles.

Nirav Shah

Shah, a former public health official, entered the race on Thursday morning, after he told POLITICO Tuesday afternoon he was still “evaluating.” Before both of those comments, he was already positioning himself as a candidate.

He called for an open process on Tuesday, including at least one televised debate, and multiple public town halls across Maine.

Shah oversaw the state’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He mounted his first run for public office earlier this year, finishing second in Maine’s gubernatorial primary. He said in an interview that he is “very, very much aligned” with Platner’s politics.

Considering running

Shenna Bellows

In a statement on Tuesday, the Maine Secretary of State said she would “seriously consider entering this race, because I believe I am uniquely fit to unite Mainers and defeat Susan Collins in just over 100 days.”

Bellows, who also ran unsuccessfully for governor, has been fielding calls about a potential run, according to a person familiar with her campaign, granted anonymity to speak about private conversations. The person pointed to her ideological alignment with Platner on progressive issues and compelling biography — she grew up poor in rural Maine and flipped a GOP-held state Senate district — providing an early glimpse of part of her pitch if she decides to enter the race.

Bellows previously ran for Senate and lost badly to Collins in 2014. She will need to prove to voters that she can win this time around, given her past defeat.

Jordan Wood

Wood is another former Senate candidate, but he switched to run for the state’s 2nd District after Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) decided he wouldn’t attempt reelection. Wood finished third in that race with state Auditor Matt Dunlap winning the nomination after a ranked-choice count.

“To beat Susan Collins, we need a candidate who can provide a true contrast and run an unapologetically progressive campaign: Passing Medicare for All. Stopping ICE terrorizing our streets. Standing up to Donald Trump’s abuse of power,” Wood wrote on X on Tuesday, saying he was “continuing conversations with voters across Maine if I should enter an open Senate race.”

A former staffer of former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Wood may have trouble courting Platner supporters who want someone from outside of D.C. But he posted solid fundraising during his House run and has worked hard to keep his name in the fold.

Paige Loud

Loud also ran for Congress in the 2nd District, coming in last during the first round of voting.. She quickly filed interest paperwork with the FEC on Tuesday to succeed Platner.

“I don’t think we should be electing a man,” Loud, who also held an unpaid role on Platner’s campaign before leaving earlier this year, said in an interview. “I think I’m tired of making women vote for a man.”

Valli Geiger

People close to Platner have been quick to mention Geiger — a member of the state House and top ally of the oysterman — as a potential successor. But Wednesday brought some drama on whether she’d have Platner’s blessing.

Geiger told a Maine local outlet that Platner said he was throwing his support behind her. The Platner campaign then said that no such commitment was made.

Geiger did not respond to POLITICO’s phone call and subsequent text message on Wednesday.

In an interview with MSNOW, Geiger said she’d taken calls about running for Senate and that she would be willing to run. But the 70-year-old state representative said a younger candidate would be better.

Andrea LaFlamme

LaFlamme was a write-in candidate during the Democratic Senate primary, receiving just over 1,000 votes. On Tuesday, she said she believes she is the “best person to take on Susan Collins” in a post on Bluesky.

LaFlamme initially launched her write-in bid because of Platner’s earlier controversies, telling the student paper of the college she works for that electing Platner “sends the message that women are not valued.” Given the fate of her write-in campaign, and the number of well-known Democrats already running, it’s unlikely she will ultimately take on Collins.

Some names to watch

Chellie Pingree

Pingree is a longtime member of Congress serving Maine’s safe-blue 1st District. Her bid is more of a long shot, given the party would also have to replace her on the ballot — thus kicking off another rush of names — but her reputation as a longtime party leader could put her in contention. Her daughter Hannah is already the Democratic nominee for governor, as well.

“Mainers deserve a nominee they can trust, a campaign focused on the challenges facing our state and our country, and a Democratic Party that responds to allegations of sexual assault with clarity, compassion, and accountability,” Pingree said in a statement Monday, calling on Platner to step down.

Ryan Fecteau

Fecteau is the youngest person to ever become Maine’s state House Speaker.

He joined other Maine Democrats in pushing Platner to exit the race, saying POLITICO’s report “make[s] it clear that Graham’s campaign cannot be successful” in a post to Facebook.

Sara Gideon

After a failed run against Collins in 2020, Gideon has maintained a relatively low public profile. But she lands a spot on this list regardless — mostly because her campaign is still sitting on $2.4 million, which was noted in a required FEC report that was filed on Wednesday.

Alec Hernández and Jessica Piper contributed to this report.

​Politics

Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner ended his campaign on Wednesday after facing a detailed allegation of sexual assault, an astounding and rapid fall for the progressive oysterman whose meteoric rise and grassroots support helped him overcome establishment opposition to secure his party’s nomination.

But a persistent accumulation of controversies weighed on Platner’s campaign for months, and Monday marked a turning point: Democratic leadership, many of Platner’s staunchest progressive backers and key groups who had been helping fund his bid withdrew their support of Platner and pressured him to drop out after POLITICO reported a new allegation of sexual assault.

Maine resident Jenny Racicot said Platner forced her to have sex with him nearly five years ago despite her repeated objections. Platner called the allegations “all false” in the 11-minute, 15-second video posted on social media Wednesday night, adding, “it’s not real.”

“We are suspending campaign operations,” Platner said in the video. “I want to make clear, though: I intend to file my paperwork to withdraw.”

He did not immediately endorse another candidate to take his place, saying the process must be “open” and controlled by the “people of Maine.”

“We believe that for the movement to continue, it can’t be me,” Platner said. “This is incredibly difficult, because I know that some will think it’s an admission of guilt, and it most certainly is not. We’re not doing it because of the allegations, we’re doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power.”

The Maine Democratic Party has until July 27 to name a replacement candidate, according to state law. Platner faced a July 13 deadline to decide whether he would drop out so the party could have time to replace him on the ballot.

The party approved a plan on Wednesday, shortly before Platner’s announcement, to choose the replacement candidate in a state party convention.

State party officials, who previously called for Platner to withdraw from the race, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Within hours of POLITICO’s article publishing Monday, top Democrats in Maine and Washington demanded that he end his campaign. Those figures included former major supporters, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

The Democrat also lost key financial backing in a contest where cash will be king. He was abandoned by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic National Committee and the Senate Majority PAC, the top super PAC supporting Senate Democrats, which said it is “redirecting resources away from the Maine Senate race in light of the latest allegations.”

VoteVets, a group that supports veterans for elected office, and End Citizens United, a liberal good governance group, also rescinded their endorsements.

Racicot’s allegation is the latest and most serious one Platner has faced, after The New York Times reported that she and several other former romantic partners alleged the candidate had displayed disturbing and sometimes violent patterns of behavior. Platner denied those claims, too.

Racicot told POLITICO she cut off contact with Platner after telling him their encounter was not consensual. She said she was torn over coming forward, in part, because she agrees with him politically.

Platner first announced his outsider campaign for Senate in August of 2025 with a flashy launch video highlighting his rural Maine roots and pledge to take on corporate interests.

But as he drew national attention, a slow drip of controversial moments from his past emerged.

POLITICO and other outlets revealed last fall a series of Reddit posts that Platner had made including posts that disparaged rural Mainers, promoted violent political action and described himself as a “communist.”

He later drew further criticism when an old photograph revealed a tattoo on his chest of a skull that resembled a Nazi totenkopf. Platner later had the tattoo covered and denied that he knew of its Nazi associations.

Still, Platner continued to gain momentum in the polls, and his rise forced Democratic Gov. Janet Mills — establishment Democrats’ preferred pick to take on GOP Sen. Susan Collins — to suspend her bid before the primary, citing a lack of financial resources. Platner went on to win the largely uncontested June 9 Democratic primary with 72 percent of the vote.

Platner’s decision to drop out leaves Democrats scrambling ahead of a critical Senate race against Collins — one that the party had identified as a must-win in order to regain control of the upper chamber in November.

It is unclear if Mills might be open to rejoining the race, though a person familiar with the situation told POLITICO that there was little prospect of party chiefs receiving support for her. Other potential Democratic candidates include former public health official Nirav Shah, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson — who unsuccessfully ran for governor this year — as well as state Rep. Valli Geiger and brewery owner Dan Kleban, who briefly launched his own Senate campaign last year but dropped out when Mills entered the race.

Aaron Pelish contributed to this report.

​Politics

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​Politics

BRUNSWICK, Maine — The effort to push Graham Platner out of the Maine Senate race has some Democrats flashing back to 2024 — and making them worry about abandoning their nominee.

Platner has seen a dramatic drop in support within the party and has lost his biggest financial backers after POLITICO reported that a woman said he forced her to have sex with him, which he denies. Democrats in Maine are already jockeying to replace him on the ballot and take on GOP Sen. Susan Collins — all before Platner has even dropped out of the race.

That series of events, several voters said in interviews, dredged up unwelcome memories of one fateful summer two years ago, when former President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid late, leaving his Vice President Kamala Harris just 107 days to beat Donald Trump. Then, she lost.

Platner should end his bid “only if he does it in time for another good strong candidate to actually hit the ground really running like hell,” Claudia Knox, 85, told POLITICO.

“I do want a fighter. I do want Collins out. So, the question to me is, if he withdraws, what happens? That’s my question,” she added. “Maybe he should hurry up, because this is feeling parallel to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”

Some Maine voters told POLITICO they’re doubtful that another candidate can replicate Platner’s momentum, even as some of them want him to drop out. They’re skeptical of what the process to replace him would even look like and worried whether Democrats have enough time to both pick a new nominee and unseat Collins.

Linda, a 79-year-old Brunswick resident who declined to share her last name, said that it was time for Platner to end his campaign. But she’s worried Democrats now face potentially insurmountable odds to defeat Collins with just four months left before the general election.

“It’s going to be tough, tough, tough. It’s going to be very tough,” she said. “I think [Democrats] have a reasonable slate of people to work with. … They can’t just go blue sky now. I mean, they’ve got to focus.”

If Platner withdraws by Monday, the Maine Democratic Party has until July 27 to name his replacement. Some officials have already begun maneuvering to identify who can step in and are considering the unsuccessful candidates for governor in this year’s primary — Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former public health official Nirav Shah and former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson — as well as state Rep. Valli Geiger and brewery owner Dan Kleban, who briefly launched his own Senate campaign last year.

Harris’ experience shows the difficulty for a candidate to step in late in the process and rebuild Democrats’ ticket-topping campaign. Platner’s replacement will have a short runway to reintroduce themself to voters and broadcast their policy priorities — all while continually having to distance their campaign from the oysterman and his string of controversies.

But the two situations are not entirely analogous. None of the candidates have shared a ticket with Platner, and all have forcefully denounced him. Harris, on the other hand, had to contend with the four years she served alongside Biden, as his presidency grew increasingly unpopular.

Biden and Harris spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment.

Those differences haven’t calmed some Maine voters’ early concerns at this nascent stage in the process, though.

“We are just leery about a new kind of Kamala Harris situation, where we don’t get to choose whatever Democratic candidate will be on the ticket,” said Stephanie Gardner, 38, as she removed her Graham Platner campaign sign from her yard in Topsham on Tuesday morning.

Gardner said she believes it’s time for Platner to step aside and wants Jackson to step up in his stead. Jackson, who touted endorsements from Platner and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in his unsuccessful run for governor, has already filed paperwork exploring a run.

Rose Heithoff, 35, said that she might prefer a process in which party leaders help winnow the field to avoid a full intraparty war, but acknowledged that didn’t solve Democrats’ problems in 2024: “If you look back at the Biden-Harris situation, that was a fumble in some ways because I think people felt like they didn’t necessarily have the choice,” she said.

The Maine Democratic Party has promised an open process and that it will reveal details as soon as Platner withdraws from the race. In a fiery Tuesday evening post on social media, Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson also slammed Platner’s team for reaching out to party officials to “put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like.”

But for now, it’s unclear whether there will be any public debates and campaigning, or how much voters will have a say.

Platner said on social media within minutes of POLITICO’s report publishing Monday that he was “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.” By Tuesday, he had cancelled fundraisers, pulled down ads, and lost support from his biggest backers, including Sanders. The powerful national Democratic campaign arm and outside groups who’ve helped fund Platner’s bid said they would focus their resources elsewhere.

Even so, some voters don’t want to see Platner go at all, worried about the consequences for the race.

On Monday, outside the site of a cancelled town hall in Gorham where Platner was scheduled to field questions from voters, Kirk Little, 78, said “the Democratic Party disqualifies people too soon” and he is sticking with Platner — for now.

POLITICO had published Racicot’s allegations just an hour before the event was supposed to begin, and Little had heard of it from a radio broadcast in his car.

“If it’s true, is it disqualifying historically? Yes. But since Trump, stuff like this that we used to think of as historically disqualifying isn’t,” he said. “I’ll still vote for the guy.”

About 30 miles away in Sanford, just north of the Maine-New Hampshire border, a group of about 10 Maine voters gathered in the parking lot of a veterans community center where Platner was set to appear after his town hall in Gorham. Once it became clear that he would not show, the would-be attendees started commiserating over the canceled event and the day’s news.

Rob Brandow, 41, of nearby Waterboro, leaned against the wooden fence surrounding the building and quietly followed the conversation from a few feet away. “It’s a tough one,” he told POLITICO of the allegations. “The honest answer is, I actually don’t care.”

“I think it’s possible philosophically to walk that line where I say, like, ‘Yes, those things are bad, it shouldn’t happen, and those allegations should be given appropriate due process to see the light of day,’” he said. “And simultaneously Susan Collins should not be re-elected.”

Jessica Piper contributed reporting.

​Politics

More than half of the Senate Democratic caucus has called for Graham Platner to drop out of the Maine Senate race, less than 24 hours after POLITICO reported that a woman the oysterman once dated had accused him of sexual assault.

Platner has denied the allegation.

Most Democrats previously stuck by Platner even as his beleaguered campaign battled scandal after scandal in recent months. By Tuesday, the tide had turned firmly against Platner, with 34 of the Senate’s 47 Democratic senators calling for him to drop out as of early Tuesday afternoon.

The revolt included some top former allies who had previously defied calls to distance themselves from Platner. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement Tuesday that he had spoken with Platner and “in light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”

And Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Monday said that there “can be no tolerance for sexual assault,” just months after referring to the progressive outsider as “my kind of man” while stumping for him in April.

The list — according to POLITICO’s tally of every sitting Democratic senator’s social media posts and public statements — also includes some of the party’s top leaders. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a joint statement that he should withdraw and the DSCC “will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot.”

Less than a dozen Democratic senators appeared to have not yet publicly commented on Platner, and did not respond to POLITICO’s request for comment on their stance. Six senators — Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.); Chris Murphy (D-Conn.); Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii); Patty Murray (D-Wash.); Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.); and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) — said Platner should drop out after the initial publication of this tracker.

It’s not just senators who are breaking with Platner. The Maine Democratic Party put out a joint statement calling for him to exit the race, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who shares a number of top advisers with Platner but never endorsed him, also called for him to step down on Tuesday.

Platner has denied the allegations. But he said his campaign is “mindful of the political reality” and “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love” in a video released on social media Monday, shortly after POLITICO published its article.

Platner had not yet reached a final decision on his campaign.

Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the calls from senators for him to step aside.

The office of Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats and will serve with the eventual winner of the 2026 Maine Senate election, said he would not be commenting on Platner, per a longstanding policy not to comment on races involving his colleagues.

Two Democratic senators who had previously endorsed Platner, Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) condemned him and withdrew their endorsements, but did not explicitly call for him to drop out of the race in social media posts. Whitehouse’s office pointed to his Thursday statement when asked if he would demand Platner drop out, while Gallego did not immediately respond to a question on if he believed he should exit the race.

“The allegations against Graham Platner are troubling and deeply serious,” Gallego said on X. “I am rescinding my endorsement.”

​Politics