After a woman accused him of rape on Monday, Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for Senate from Maine, released a video denying the allegations and saying he would be reflecting on his candidacy. That's usually the death knell for a campaign and an indication that the candidate will soon be bowing out.
On top of that, not only are many of the Democrats who supported him now fleeing, but the Maine Democratic leadership and the folks with money, like the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), are saying they won't be supporting his campaign.
READ MORE: Dems Crash Out Over Platner, As They Scramble Away From Him and Calls to Step Aside Begin
More Dems Flee Platner, As Woman Accusing Him Does Live Interview Laying Out More
However, the New York Times reported that Platner hadn't yet made up his mind about dropping out.
NEW: Platner has not made a decision on dropping out — and no guarantee he does, according to a person familiar with internal campaign discussions.
— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) July 6, 2026
On NYT live blog —>https://t.co/H3lGniotdo pic.twitter.com/kBYvUBxdZA
He has not made a decision on whether to drop out, according to a person familiar with the campaign’s internal discussions, who added there was no guarantee he would drop out even as Democrats abandoned his campaign. “If he was to step down it would only be with a guarantee of being replaced by a candidate who he believes is true to the values and vision and policy agenda of the campaign that Maine voted for,” said the person, who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the discussions publicly.
Is he kidding? This bozo thinks he gets to dictate terms as to who would replace him? That takes some kind of gall. Now this is going to taint whoever gets picked, if it is viewed that he influenced the picking. This is what the Democrats have reduced themselves to. Great job here, guys. You put yourselves in this position.
Former Biden official and President of the Center for American Progress, Neera Tanden, said maybe Platner's consultants shouldn't be the ones to "dictate terms." The irony here.
Journalist and political commentator Mark Halperin had an interesting comment.
Y’all are focused on the wrong Platner. https://t.co/footdLbxG9
— Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) July 7, 2026
If Platner's wife replaced him, that would be equally bad for the Democrats.
The name being bandied about the most on X appears to be Troy Jackson, who just ran for governor and lost in the primary. He came in third, though, in initial voting. He was president of the Maine Senate and endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
But once again, you had Democrats putting forth a guy in Platner that they knew had issues, and then they're trying to pull him when they realized he's toast, as with Joe Biden. That's doing a disservice to the voters when you do that, and then it's not putting forward a person who was truly chosen in a proper primary. That's how you end up with folks like Kamala Harris, and losing badly.
The Maine Democratic Party can replace Platner on the ballot if he withdraws by July 13. Then, they would have until July 27 to name a replacement.
So we'll have to see what they do or if Platner decides to cross them up and not drop out.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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