A pseudo Senate primary has formed in Maine as Democrats wait on Graham Platner to potentially end his campaign in the face of an allegation of sexual assault.
Platner, the Democratic nominee to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins this fall, has denied the accusation but said Monday that he was reassessing the future of his campaign. His top supporters have rescinded their endorsements and called on him to drop out of the race, while national Democratic groups have said they would not invest in the Maine race if Platner remains the nominee.
Platner was reportedly expected to speak as soon as Wednesday.
But there appears to be tension between Platner’s camp and the Maine Democratic Party, which, under state law, would be tasked with replacing Platner on the ballot if he were to drop out by Monday at 5 p.m. Devon Murphy-Anderson, the Maine Democratic Party’s executive director, said in a video posted to social media Tuesday night that the state party was working to develop a process to replace Platner as the nominee.
“Unfortunately, Graham Platner’s team has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like,” she said. “We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner’s team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, nor in determining what this process looks like.”
