Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, that he told U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner of Maine to “stand down.” In this photo, Sanders (right) gathers with Platner in Portland on May 25, 2026. (Photo by Emma Davis/Maine Morning Star)
Numerous senior Democrats called on Graham Platner, the party’s November election candidate against Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, to drop out of the race as they sought to salvage the party’s chances of regaining the Senate majority.
In the wake of Politico’s explosive Monday report After an ex-girlfriend of Platner’s alleged he sexually assaulted her in 2021, the political newcomer’s supporters in Congress and Democratic circles in Washington, D.C., withdrew their endorsements and sought a novel candidate in the race seen as crucial for control of the Senate.
The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee said it would pull all of its resources from the race as long as Platner was the nominee, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for his resignation and Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who gave Platner an early boost in the race for the Democratic nomination, said He directly told Platner to “resign.”
Even Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said Platner should retire.
And key outside Democratic groups, including Planned Parenthood, the Sierra Club and the Sanders-founded Our Revolution PAC, also withdrew their support after the Politico report was published.
Platner has denied the accusation and was still the Democratic nominee as of Tuesday afternoon. However, he raised the possibility that he would leave the race on Monday, saying in a miniature video directly to camera that he was “taking the time to think about the best path forward.”
Under state law, he must resign by July 13, and the party would have until July 27 to replace him.
Four seats in the Senate
On Monday and Tuesday, national Democrats appeared eager to move on from the oysterman and first-time candidate who gained national attention for both his vigorous economic populist campaign and his personal scandals to preserve one of the party’s best chances for a Senate seat this year.
Democrats need to flip four Senate seats to win control of the chamber, with Collins the only Republican up for re-election in a state that President Donald Trump lost in 2024.
Election forecasters generally viewed the Maine race as a toss-up before the latest news about Platner broke.
Cook’s Political Report Tariffs One seat in North Carolina was vacated by retiring Republican Thom Tillis, who is also leaning toward Democrats while the incumbents are Republican They face sturdy Democratic challengers There are disagreements in Alaska and Ohio, as well as in an open race to replace Democrat Gary Peters in Michigan.
If Collins wins re-election, Democrats would have to win the election and secure at least one seat currently viewed as favoring Republicans to balance the balance in the Senate, now controlled by Republicans with 53 seats.
The national environment generally gives Democrats an advantage, considering Trump’s destitute poll numbers and trends favoring the party’s absence from the White House in the midterm elections.
But Collins’ electoral strength — she outperformed Trump by 15 percentage points in 2020, the last time she voted, and remained the only New England Republican in the Senate — has beguiled Democrats for decades.
Fast consolidation
Replacing Platner and quickly coalescing around another candidate could be the party’s best chance to remain competitive.
Rodell Mollineau, a Democratic strategist and co-founder of D.C.-based ROKK Solutions, said Democrats in Maine should be aware of the party’s defeat in the 2024 presidential race after President Joe Biden was replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket.
“A replacement could win if everyone agrees quickly,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “Based on some of the lessons learned in 2024, it would be helpful if there could be a process where voters don’t think this person has been forced on them and they have a choice.”
Several potential successors have expressed interest since the Politico story was published.
Former state CDC director Nirav D. Shah, who came second in the gubernatorial primary last month, said he has sent in “hundreds of encouraging messages” and is considering his next move.
Jordan Wood, who finished third in the primary for the U.S. House seat held by outgoing Rep. Jared Golden, indicated he would be ecstatic to be considered.
“If my fellow Maine Democrats decide, in an open and democratic process, that I am the best candidate to defeat Susan Collins, I would be humbled by their confidence in me,” Wood said in a statement.
Our revolution supporting progressive candidates, warned “the Democratic establishment” to consider the wishes of primary voters if and when a replacement is selected.
The hill reported on Tuesday The group is supporting former state Senate President Troy Jackson, who finished third in the gubernatorial primary.
Spokespeople for Platner’s campaign did not respond to messages seeking comment Tuesday.
