Maine oyster farmer Graham Platner’s insurgent campaign to defeat Republican incumbent Susan Collins is now on death watch after credible allegations of sexual assault surfaced against him, prompting a rapid mass exodus of his endorsers and supporters. Though Platner denies the allegations, he initially signaled in a video statement that he’s considering his options. Below are the latest updates on the state of Platner’s campaign and what might happen in Maine’s Senate race without him.
The New York Times takes a look:
Top Maine Democratic Party officials have discussed possible plans to replace Mr. Platner on the ballot, with options including a pop-up convention on the weekend of July 25 to choose a nominee, or holding a statewide caucus to effectively redo the party’s primary election, according to two people who have talked with the officials and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party conversations.Officials have ruled out having the state party’s committee, which includes about 100 members, choose the nominee, the people said.
A new public tension emerged late Tuesday as the Maine Democratic Party called out the Platner campaign, suggesting that they’re trying to meddle in the process of selecting a new candidate. In a video statement shared to social media, Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson said the party has been working “around the clock” to put together a process to select a new nominee that is “open, inclusive, transparent and fair.”
