Earlier, Townhall reported on the statement from Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson, who said the state party was looking for a way to create an 'open' and 'fair' process for selecting a new Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate race. That's happening because Democrats realized Graham Platner is going to lose to Susan Collins. That revelation came after two credible accusations from women Platner had previously dated; former girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield told The New York Times Platner was physically abusive during their relationship, including an incident in which he twisted her arm, shoved her in a bedroom, and refused to let her leave. Jenny Racicot told Politico that when she was dating Platner, he once came into her house uninvited and forced her to have sex with him.
But let's make no mistake: Democrats didn't really care about those allegations. They made that explicitly clear when they attacked Fifield and said her accusations were partisan-driven. They didn't care about the Nazi tattoo or the social media posts, either. They only cared that polls and fundraising showed Platner losing to Susan Collins.
And now a Platner campaign official is firing back at the Maine Democrats, denying that Platner wants to put his 'finger on the scale' of the process.
A Platner campaign official fires back at @MaineDems, telling NBC News: “The Platner campaign has reached out to the party to try and understand what this process would look like. At no point has the campaign tried to ‘put its finger on the scale.’ Over 150,000 Mainers voted for… https://t.co/l9CbmYkCE6
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) July 8, 2026
There are reports that Platner is refusing to drop out unless he can name his successor, and the current kerfuffle with the Maine Democrats seems to lend credibility to that report. Murphy-Anderson said the Platner campaign reached out to the state party to influence the process of selecting Platner's replacement, and that the party informed Platner's campaign they would not be involved in the process in any way.
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Platner has until July 13 to withdraw from the race, and Maine Democrats would have until Monday, July 27 to name Platner's replacement.
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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