{"id":4031,"date":"2026-07-09T05:07:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T05:07:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4031"},"modified":"2026-07-09T05:07:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T05:07:44","slug":"maine-dems-planning-convention-for-next-candidate-after-scandal-ridden-graham-platner-drops-out-of-senate-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=4031","title":{"rendered":"Maine Dems planning convention for next candidate after scandal-ridden Graham Platner drops out of Senate race"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Maine Democrats voted Wednesday to hold a convention after Graham Platner dropped his bid for US Senate following accusations of rape \u2014 marking the final blow to his scandal-scarred campaign.<\/p>\n

Read more Accused rapist Graham Platner finally drops out of Maine Senate race \u2014 but claims it\u2019s all a grand conspiracy to stop his movement<\/a><\/p>\n

Platner faced enormous pressure from within the party this week to bow out after revelations that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2021 surfaced.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maine is critical for Democrats\u2019 efforts to retake control of the US Senate in the midterm elections, leaving a race to fill the vacuum left by Platner, a progressive \u2014 as the party hopes to defeat longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.<\/p>\n

State law requires Democrats to name a replacement candidate for Platner by July 27. \u00a0<\/p>\n

More than 100 state committee members voted to hold a nominating convention if Platner withdrew from the race.<\/p>\n

However, as of Wednesday night, Platner had not yet officially submitted his paperwork to withdraw from the race, according to a spokesperson for Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.<\/p>\n

In a video posted to social media, Platner, 41, whined that the process of choosing his successor needs to be \u201copen, transparent and democratic,\u201d and reflect the values of his base, not \u201cpeople in D.C.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople in D.C. need to stay in D.C.,\u201d he groused, adding that \u201cdecisions should not be made by people in places of political power.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Behind closed doors, party insiders say Platner\u2019s campaign has been fighting with the establishment to help select his eventual successor.<\/p>\n

Platner also stressed that stepping down from his campaign was not an admission of guilt.<\/p>\n

Support for the polarizing progressive didn\u2019t fully collapse until Monday, when Politico reported that he drunkenly forced himself on a woman when she asked him to stop in her Maine home in 2021.<\/p>\n

Read more Miranda Devine: Slimy Dems \u2014 the party of Me Too \u2014 show their true colors in Graham Platner scandal<\/a><\/p>\n

He denied the allegation as \u201ccategorically false\u201d on social media, but said he would be \u201ctaking the time to reflect on the best path forward\u201d for the campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the latest on the bombshell sexual assault allegations which forced Graham Platner to drop out of Maine Senate race :<\/h2>\n