Social worker Paige Loud ended her campaign to replace Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate facing Sen. Susan Collins in November.
Loud previously finished last in a field of four Democrats seeking the nomination in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. She and former political aide Jordan Wood, who finished third in that primary, jumped into the U.S. Senate race after Platner dropped out.
Loud, a Democratic Socialist, cited the unprecedented process the Maine Democratic Party has chosen to replace Platner, who dropped out after a former girlfriend said he raped her in 2021, an allegation he denies. His exit left less than a month for the party to choose a replacement, which it will do on July 25 at a convention with roughly 600 delegates.
“Instead of speaking to communities, demonstrating a comprehensive grasp on federal policy, and earning the trust of the electorate, candidates must play a political chess match to strategically pack as many pledged supporters into a voting body of only 601,” Loud said in a statement announcing her withdrawal. “This is not a game I’m willing to play, and I can no longer in good conscience put forth energy and resources towards it that I should otherwise spend on immediate issues like getting ICE out of Maine and securing healthcare for all.”
Loud’s exit leaves 12 candidates competing for the chance to face Collins, who is newly under attack for her support of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement after one of its agents shot and killed a 25-year-old from Colombia in Biddeford on Monday.
“F— ICE and Free Palestine. We have a world to win and nothing to lose but our chains,” Loud said the sign off of her withdrawal letter.
