Graham Plattner withdrew from the Maine Senate race on Friday, ending his tumultuous political saga and allowing Democrats to begin the process of choosing an alternative candidate.
“I write to formally withdraw my candidacy for the United States Senate,” Mr. Plattner wrote. A letter to the Maine Secretary of State. “Please consider this notice as my official withdrawal from consideration for this office.”
Mr. Plattner’s official departure from the race, which was confirmed by Jana Spaulding, an aide to the Maine Secretary of State, came two days after he announced he would suspend his campaign following a rape allegation, which he denied. It also comes as Maine Democrats have begun talks about how they will create a process to replace him, which is expected to culminate at a state convention in two weeks.
Maine Democrats are eyeing the party convention in late July to select a new Senate candidate to replace Mr. Plattner. State and county Democratic Party officials in Maine have spent this week drafting rules for how they will select delegates, who will vote from among the handful of candidates already seeking the nomination.
At least six candidates have said they will run in the abbreviated contest. There were three gubernatorial candidates who did not win primaries last month, two others lost primaries for a House seat and another was a brief Senate candidate before dropping his bid last year.
Mr Plattner faced a 5pm deadline on Monday to formally withdraw his candidacy. Had he not accomplished this, he would have remained on Maine’s general election ballots in November, a potentially disastrous event given the whirlwind of recent developments regarding his past.
In his departure letter, Mr. Plattner touted the successes of his primary campaign, reiterated his political platform and repeated the lines from his Wednesday remarks suspending his campaign. He concluded with an offhand comment about Immigration and Customs Enforcement and wrote “Free Palestine” and “Up the Hearts” in reference to Portland’s professional football team.
Maine Democrats now have until July 27 to choose a replacement candidate. The new candidate will run against Republican Senator Susan Collins. The contest has long been viewed as a key battleground in the battle for the Senate majority.
Tim Balk Contributed to the reporting.
