Democratic support for Graham Platner is collapsing nationwide. Chuck Schumer has decided to pull the plug. The good news is that we’re still four months out from the election and the damage can be mitigated. Most likely former Maine governor Janet Mills will take the candidacy currently filled by Graham Platner. Platner has been too much to deal with and the sexual assault allegation was the last straw. Axios:
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Graham Platner to “immediately” end his campaign, throwing the Maine Senate race into chaos just four months before Election Day.
Why it matters: Maine was Democrats’ best opportunity to flip a Senate seat. Now, it has become Schumer’s worst nightmare.
- Schumer and his fellow New York Democrat, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, joined a growing list of state and national Democrats urging Platner to drop out. But only Platner can make that decision.
- “Graham Platner needs to immediately withdraw as the Democratic nominee for Senate and allow Maine Democrats the opportunity to choose a new candidate who can defeat Susan Collins,” Schumer and Gillibrand said in a joint statement.
- “The DSCC will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot.”
Driving the news: Platner, part of a wave of progressive newcomers to win Democratic primaries this year, said he is “taking the time” to consider his next steps after Politico reported allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman he was dating in 2021.
- Under Maine law, Democrats have until July 13 for Platner to withdraw. If he does, the state party would have two weeks to choose a replacement nominee.
- Platner’s a progressive whom Schumer embraced only after his preferred nominee — Gov. Janet Mills — was rejected by voters. (Mills suspended her campaign shortly before the June 9 primary.)
- Now, Schumer’s worst fears about nominating an untested and largely unvetted candidate to take on Collins are playing out in real time.
What they’re saying: Maine’s Democratic Party said in a statement Monday evening that it was “calling on Graham Platner to withdraw as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.”
“Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)Â wrote on X.
The Bulwark is running a piece reporting that in focus groups people said that the red line would be if Platner was accused of sexual assault. He just has been accused of sexual assault. Let’s hope that Janet Mills can beat Susan Collins. Mills was a popular governor. Maybe the Democrats in Maine will rally and elect Mills their next senator.
