Maine Democrats have begun laying out the process for replacing Graham Platner as the party’s Senate nominee, as candidates race to assemble campaigns for a weekslong sprint to set up a marquee Senate matchup. Platner posted a letter declaring his withdrawal of candidacy to social media on Friday afternoon, making official his announcement earlier this week that he would suspend his Senate campaign after an allegation of sexual assault, which he denies. “In submitting this letter today, I seek to further the movement we have built together and the future we believe in,” Platner wrote. The Maine Secretary of State’s Office confirmed receipt of Platner’s notice. Officials have said Maine Democrats will hold a nominating convention, though it’s not yet clear when. The hopefuls so far include several people who ran unsuccessfully for other offices this year, giving most of them name ID with voters and a preexisting campaign infrastructure. Former gubernatorial candidates Troy Jackson, Nirav Shah and Shenna Bellows have all entered the race. Jordan Wood, who sought the Democratic nomination to succeed retiring Rep. Jared Golden in the 2nd District, launched a campaign, while social worker Paige Loud, who also unsuccessfully sought that nomination, filed a statement of candidacy. Dan Kleban, who briefly ran for Senate last year before exiting the race to endorse Gov. Janet Mills, and David Costello, who placed third in last month’s Senate primary, have also both said they are running. Those candidates have until Wednesday at 5 p.m. to file a declaration of intent to seek the party nomination. They will then have through July 20 to submit at least 500 signatures, including at least 50 from no fewer than eight counties. Maine is considered a must-win state for Democrats as they seek to win control of the Senate in the midterm elections this November. After groups led by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said earlier this week that they would not invest in the Maine race if Platner remained the nominee, outside groups have begun reengaging in the state. The outside group Affordable Maine on Friday launched a $2.5 million ad campaign highlighting incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins’ support for President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominees. “Because of Susan Collins, states are banning abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest. And women are dying,” the ad says. Democrats have long argued that they would seek to litigate Collins’ support for Brett M. Kavanaugh during this campaign, the first she’s waged since Kavanaugh was among the justices who voted in 2022 to overturn Roe v. Wade. Meanwhile, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth said late Thursday that she was opposed to Shah’s Senate campaign, pointing to his time as Illinois’ public health director and saying that “Maine deserves better.” Duckworth called for Shah to step down from the role in 2018 over his handling of a disease outbreak at a veterans home in Illinois. “I called for his resignation then, and I strongly oppose his run for Senate now,” she said.
