More than 48 hours after Graham Platner signaled he may drop out of the Maine Senate race after facing a sexual assault allegation, he continues to hold off on announcing whether he’ll end his campaign.
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In that time, tensions have dramatically escalated between the state party and Platner. Both sides have aired their grievances publicly, threatening any lingering hopes of unifying the party to defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins, an uphill climb under even the best of circumstances. The seat is critical to Democratic hopes of taking control of the Senate in the fall.
“It is a lobster cage fight with the rubber bands off. It is a death match right now between every single apparatus in the Democratic Party,” Liam Kent, a resident of Midcoast, Maine who previously worked for years with the state Democratic Party.
Right now, discussions center around what will happen if Platner steps aside — and who gets a say in that process. Platner has until July 13, in which case the state party could replace him by July 27. If he refuses to drop out, Democrats are stuck with him on the ballot.
Senior leadership from the Platner campaign held a call Wednesday with its staff, according to a person on the call. The senior campaign official told staff that while they did not believe the allegations against Platner were true, they also understood the reality of the political situation and are considering their options moving forward. Platner has also said his ex-girlfriend’s allegation that he sexually assaulted her in 2021 is false.
The official said that Platner will speak later on Wednesday. According to the person on the call, it appeared that the official was referring to Platner addressing the staff on the call, not the general public, but that was not abundantly clear. The campaign leadership did not explicitly say Platner was preparing to end his campaign.
On Tuesday evening, the Maine Democratic Party’s executive director accused Platner’s team of trying to put its “thumb on the scale” in picking a replacement nominee, which Platner’s campaign flatly denied, saying it only want to “understand what this process would look like” as he contemplates his next steps.
That clash continued Wednesday as Platner campaign manager Ben Chin sent a text message to supporters accusing the state party of disrespecting the 156,000 Mainers who voted for him in the June primary.
“We firmly believe that the supporters and volunteers who built this movement deserve to have a real role in any nomination process,” Chin said in the text message, which was obtained by NBC News. “If the Maine Democratic Party hopes to harness our movement, and avoid disillusioning the hundreds of thousands of supporters who came into the fray because of our movement’s policies, it must consult the feedback and proposals of the people who built and sustained this.”
It included a link to a survey soliciting responses to two questions: “What message do you have for the Democratic Party?” and “What message do you have for Graham?”
Kent said there are three options for choosing a replacement nominee: First, a speedy primary that would involve an infusion of money to the counties to set up; second, a caucus convention that would be somewhat simpler to execute, while carrying its limitation; and third, Maine state party officials could simply vote and pick one.
“To put it bluntly, they’re making it up as they go along,” Kent said. “I helped write some of these bylaws. And there’s nothing in the bylaws for anything like this. So they’re starting from scratch. Lawyers don’t know. The compliance people don’t know. So it’s a roll of the dice.”
Meanwhile, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee staffers have flown into Portland, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation, as the state party grapples with its next moves and a flurry of candidates jockey for the nomination.
The optics of such a move are fraught, since Platner gained considerable support for his anti-establishment campaign that took aim at Democratic elites in Washington. Gov. Janet Mills, who had the backing of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, suspended her primary bid in April after polls showed her consistently trailing Platner.
One of the sources called the DSCC’s presence “unsettling,” saying it appeared that the state and national party — and not the Platner campaign — were putting their thumb on the scale.
Chin accused the Maine state party of enlisting the DSCC “to plan a potential nominating process behind closed doors” while cutting the Platner campaign out of the process.
Asked to comment, the DSCC did not dispute that they’re on the ground in Maine but rejected the notion that they are trying to control the process.
“This is false. The Maine Democratic Party has made it clear that they are working to put forth an open process to select a nominee,” a DSCC spokesperson said. “Graham Platner — who was credibly accused of rape — needs to drop out immediately so that Maine Democrats can begin the process of fielding a new candidate and focus on defeating Susan Collins.”
The DSCC added that they’ve said from the beginning that this process should be left to Maine Democrats to select a new nominee.
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