Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday publicly recommended that Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner drop out of the contest following a sexual assault allegation reported on Monday that Platner has denied.
"I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine," Sanders said in a statement. "In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside." Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, has been a prominent progressive backer of Platner and was described as his largest national ally.
The senator's intervention adds to a cascade of defections within the Democratic Party after a woman accused Platner of forcibly having sex with her nearly five years ago. Senate Democratic leaders and an allied super PAC have said they will not provide financial backing in Maine if Platner remains the nominee, effectively withholding resources from a race Democrats view as competitive.
Implications for control of the Senate
The stakes in Maine are significant for Democratic prospects of flipping control of the Senate. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority, meaning Democrats must net four seats to secure a majority. If Democrats lose Maine, the path to control becomes more difficult: the party would need to hold seats in Georgia and Michigan - states President Donald Trump won in 2024 - while flipping four Republican-held seats in states including North Carolina, Ohio, Alaska, Iowa and Texas.
The arithmetic is challenging. While Trump won North Carolina by 3 percentage points, he carried the other states by double-digit margins, underscoring the uphill climb Democrats would face without a competitive candidate in Maine.
Platner's response and the replacement timeline
Platner issued a brief social media video on Monday saying he was taking time "to reflect on the best path forward." He has otherwise remained silent. Under Maine election law, Platner can be replaced on the ballot if he withdraws by July 13. Should he step aside, the Maine Democratic Party would have until July 27 to name a new nominee.
As that deadline approaches, several Democrats who lost last month's primary for governor and other potential candidates were moving to position themselves for a likely Senate run. On Tuesday, former state Senate President Troy Jackson filed federal paperwork to form an exploratory committee, enabling him to begin fundraising, a report said.
Calls for an open selection process
Nirav Shah, the former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, urged the party to conduct "an open and transparent process" to pick a successor. Shah said anyone seeking the nomination should agree to at least one televised debate and hold multiple public town halls across the state. In his statement on X, he emphasized that he is "not an establishment politician" and "not an insider."
The coming days will determine whether Platner withdraws and how quickly Democrats can coalesce around an alternative nominee in a state they consider central to their narrow path to a Senate majority.