Senate candidate Graham Platner faces new assault charges
Graham Platner faces new sexual assault allegations as he weighs his Senate campaign against Maine Sen. Susan Collins.
Maine Democrats will need to act quickly if they heed the growing calls for Senate candidate Graham Platner to drop out of the race over sexual assault allegations, but they do have options.
The state’s unprecedented, last-minute rush to find a replacement mirrors the sprint campaign launched by Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July 2024.
“We are taking time to consider the best path forward,” Plattner said in a video posted to social media on July 6. According to state rules, he has until July 13 to step down and be replaced in a statewide vote.
The process can happen quickly behind the scenes
The Maine Democratic Party has until July 27 to nominate a replacement.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins, 73, holds the seat. But the race is widely seen as an opportunity for Democrats to pick up seats and shift power away from Republican control.
In a July 6 statement, the party leadership called for Platner’s resignation, but did not elaborate on how they would choose a replacement. The law does not stipulate any specific mechanism other than instructing the political committee to “nominate a successor” by July 27. The situation is unprecedented in Maine, according to two state political scientists.
The party could consider a variety of options, including caucuses, internal elections, pop-up conventions, or more informal internal deliberations.
Mark Brewer, a political science professor at the University of Maine, said the Maine Democratic Party does have “carte blanche” in choosing a successor.
“They could get the party leadership to do it, right? Classic old-style, smoke-filled room politics. I don’t think they’re going to do that, because the optics would be terrible,” Brewer said. “We could have a more open convention, but it might not be as open as some people would like. We could have a caucus. It would be tough to finish the caucus at this point, but we could have a convention.”
Brewer also said the party could accept the application and make a unilateral decision.
Who is the best candidate to replace Platner?
Troy Jackson, 58 years old
Allagash native Troy Jackson is the likely candidate to replace Platner, according to local political commentators and some leading prediction market platforms.
Jackson, a lumberjack, served as president of the Maine Senate from 2018 to 2024. He lost gubernatorial elections in 2014 and 2026. He lost in the primary to Hannah Pingree.
Mr. Jackson and Mr. Platner have endorsed each other this year, and Mr. Jackson’s gubernatorial bid has attracted support from labor leaders, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna, among others.
Mr. Jackson did not immediately respond to questions about a possible candidacy. On July 6, he posted on social media calling for Platner to withdraw, but did not comment on his own candidacy.
“I think Troy Jackson is the closest thing to Platner in terms of populism, criticizing corporations and emphasizing labor unions,” Jim Melcher, a political science professor at the University of Maine at Farmington, told USA TODAY. “Platner’s base would be the happiest with acquiring Jackson.”
The Bangor Daily News reported that Mr. Jackson first filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on July 7 to raise money for Mr. Plattner’s replacement.
Shena Bellows, 51 years old
Bellows is Maine’s secretary of state and ran for governor in 2026, but lost in the primary.
Mr. Bellows served in the Maine State Senate from 2016 to 2020. He previously worked for the Holocaust Human Rights Center of Maine and the American Civil Liberties Union, and ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2014.
Bellows called on Platner to resign on July 6, but did not comment on his candidacy.
David Costello, 66 years old
Mr. Costello faced Mr. Platner in the primary earlier this year and lost.
The Bangor native is an environmental policy consultant. He worked overseas for USAID and as an assistant to the mayor of Baltimore and the governor of Maryland.
Costello posted on social media that despite Platner’s departure, “I will be back.”
Patrick Dempsey, 60 years old
According to Mainwire, Dempsey, who played fictional neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd, aka “McDreamy” on Grey’s Anatomy, could be a “wild card” for a ticket.
Dempsey, a Lewiston native, “could quickly garner national media attention, energize Democratic donors and appeal to women voters, independents and those seeking political outsiders,” The Wire wrote.
Representatives for Mr. Dempsey did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Jared Golden, 43 years old
U.S. Congressman Golden is a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Last year, he lamented the toll politics had taken on his family and announced that he would not seek re-election to parliament in 2026.
Golden did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Melcher said it was unlikely Golden would have any desire to run. Additionally, Melcher said he has always been close to incumbent Collins and is likely too conservative for Platner’s base.
Aaron Frey, 46 years old
Frey was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2012 and has served as attorney general since 2018.
Frey has not publicly commented on Platner’s situation. Frey supported Hannah Pingree in the May gubernatorial election.
His state office is term-limited, and his name has been frequently mentioned as a candidate for high-level office.
Sarah Gideon, 54 years old
Gideon is the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. She ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate against Collins in 2020.
Gideon has not made any public announcements about Platner’s replacement.
Campaign observers note that she still has a campaign account with active funds.
Dan Kleban, 48 years old
Mr. Kleban, a co-founder of the Maine Beer Company, unsuccessfully ran as a Democratic candidate to unseat Mr. Collins in 2026. He did not participate in the June primary vote.
Kleban called the accusations against Platner “horrifying and completely disqualifying” and called for him to leave immediately in a July 6 social media post.
Janet Mills, 78 years old
Maine Governor Mills initially ran against Collins, but canceled his campaign in April. The current term ends in January 2027.
She served as Maine’s attorney general and a member of the state House of Representatives.
Mills has remained silent about Platner’s future and her own path to the vote. She refused to endorse Mr. Platner after suspending her campaign. In May, after the first wave of controversial articles about Platner surfaced, Mills reminded voters that she was technically “still on the ballot” before losing the June 9 primary.
Mr. Mills did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether he would resume his Senate campaign if Mr. Platner resigned. Melcher suggested that many Platner supporters would be unhappy if she were the candidate, as they want a younger candidate outside the establishment.
Cherry Pingree, 71 years old
Pingree serves as one of Maine’s members of Congress. She was elected in 2008 and represents the southern part of the state.
She lost to Mr. Collins in the 2002 Senate race. Mr. Pingree asked Mr. Platner to withdraw from the race on July 6, but did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nirav Shah, 49 years old
Shah came in second in this year’s gubernatorial primary. The economist and epidemiologist has worked for state and federal health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he briefly served as acting director in 2023.
Shah has held daily press conferences and has become the public face of Maine’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shah indicated on social media on July 7 that he was open to replacing Platner, and is in talks with his family, team and voters.
He called for a “transparent and open” nomination process and promised a televised debate and City Hall if he ran.
Jordan Wood, 36 years old
Wood, a former staffer to former California Rep. Katie Porter, unsuccessfully ran for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District and Senate seat this year.
Wood told USA TODAY that he would be open to replacing Platner if “my fellow Maine Democrats decide to do so through an open and democratic process.”
“To defeat Susan Collins, Maines deserves a candidate who presents a true contrast, runs on a progressive platform, fights to pass Medicare for All, stops the terror of ICE on our streets, and stands up to Donald Trump’s abuse of power,” Wood said.
