Graham Platner filed paperwork with state officials Friday afternoon to get his name off the ballot in his suspended bid against U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, officially capping off a tumultuous campaign that fired up progressives across the state but eventually lost state and national support after a series of escalating scandals.
Platner in a roughly 200-word letter did not address the sexual assault allegations that marked the downfall of his campaign. Instead he thanked his supporters, volunteers and the record-breaking 156,000 Mainers who chose him as the nominee a month ago. The oyster farmer had previously said he wouldn’t file the notice of withdrawal until the 5 p.m. deadline Monday. The delay and a reported push for a progressive replacement sparked some concerns among Democrats that he was trying to unduly influence the race — a charge his team has pinned on national Democrats.
“People are desperate for change,” he wrote in a letter that echoed his fiery town halls. “For this broken system to be righted. For the American experiment to be furthered. Over the past eleven months, thousands and thousands of Mainers poured their hearts, time, and talent into a movement to deliver that vision. I will be forever grateful to them.”
The letter came after a week of chaos for the Maine Democratic Party, which has been forced to establish an unprecedented nominating convention. A handful of new U.S. Senate candidates, including those who came up short in down ballot primaries last month, have announced new campaigns to replace Platner, who they’ve denounced while still seeking to appeal to his progressive base.
The Secretary of State’s office confirmed receipt of the letter and Platner’s removal from the ballot. That paves the way for the party to officially nominate a replacement.
Platner said by submitting the withdrawal letter, he seeks “to further the movement we have built together and the future we believe in.”
As he did in a defiant and emotional video Wednesday night announcing the suspension of his campaign, he said the ballot line “belongs to the people of Maine.”
“As such, please consider this notice as my official withdrawal from consideration for this office,” Platner wrote in his letter. “F*ck ICE. Free Palestine. Up the Hearts. Solidarity forever.”
The new candidates to replace him are gearing up for potential debates, town halls and other events as they jumpstart rapid campaigns. The contenders so far include former public health chief Nirav Shah, former state Senate President Troy Jackson, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former political aide Jordan Wood, former government official David Costello, Maine Beer Company co-founder Dan Kleban and state Rep. Valli Geiger.