Democrats are expecting their Senate nominee in Maine to end his campaign and let the state party replace him, after a woman who dated Graham Platner accused him of sexual assault and state Democrats and most of his endorsers urged him to quit.
Sources close to Nirav Shah, who lost last month’s gubernatorial primary, and Jordan Wood, who lost the primary in the 2nd Congressional District, said they’ve been fielding calls about the nomination, which Maine Democrats could give to another candidate by July 27 if Platner quits by July 13.
Platner’s advocates were sounding out Troy Jackson, the former state Senate president, who ran third in the gubernatorial primary (and was, like Platner, endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.).
Maine Democrats have total control over the replacement process, and progressives argue that a likeminded candidate would stand to inherit most of Platner’s supporters and organization; the Sanders-founded group Our Revolution urged Platner to quit, while urging Democrats to find an alternative who “lived the fight Graham Platner ran on.”