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Democrats in Maine are scrambling to choose a replacement for Graham Platner. He ended his campaign for U.S. Senate after he was accused of rape by a former girlfriend, a charge he denies. NPR senior political correspondent Tamara Keith reports from Maine.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Just one month ago, Alan Crighton (ph) was playing saxophone at Graham Platner's primary night victory party. Now he's at a brewery in Belfast and grappling with disappointment.
ALAN CHRIGHTON: I have so many mixed feelings. I like the guy. I like his message a great deal. And I think he galvanized people who were just kind of sick of what's happening.
KEITH: Crighton says the situation now is a big old mess. He's a Democrat and was hoping the charismatic populist Platner, would be the one to finally knock out longtime Republican senator from Maine Susan Collins. Though at this point, he'll vote for whoever the Maine Democratic Party selects.
CHRIGHTON: I hope it's somebody who can kind of carry the torch that Graham kind of lit and held out there really strongly. He was really - he was a very inspiring guy.
KEITH: Maine Democrats will hold a convention on July 25 where 601 delegates will choose a replacement candidate.
DAVID COSTELLO: Do you happen to be a registered Democrat?
KEITH: David Costello, who came in third in the June Senate primary is one of more than half a dozen Democrats who've raised their hands to run.
COSTELLO: Yeah. We've got to collect 500 signatures by the 21st.
KEITH: On Sunday morning, he was in downtown Brunswick gathering signatures to qualify to be considered at the convention.
COSTELLO: People are going to grumble. I've grumbled a little bit, but I think whoever the nominee is will have tremendous support.
KEITH: Before the Platner meltdown, Maine was seen by Democrats as a key pickup opportunity in their effort to gain control of the Senate. In this state where Kamala Harris won the statewide popular vote in 2024, Senator Collins was seen as uniquely vulnerable.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Susan. Susan. Susan.
KEITH: The weekend, Collins walked in the annual Moxie Day parade in Lisbon, flanked by a large group of volunteers in matching red shirts.
SUSAN COLLINS: People appreciate the fact that I provide steady leadership - and the word steady does come up a lot - and that I continue to work really hard for Maine.
KEITH: Steady wouldn't be the word to describe how Democratic voters are feeling in this moment. Many are left wondering whether the energy Platner's campaign generated will leave the race with the man.
MATTIE DAUGHTRY: I do have that deep-seated concern of how many folks are going to say, oh, well, this man failed me. Why trust someone ever again?
KEITH: That's Democrat Mattie Daughtry, who is president of the Maine state Senate. She's encouraged that many of the candidates now running are embracing the same progressive message of transformational change that Platner campaigned on.
DAUGHTRY: I ran for office when I was 25 because I was really, really angry. I was working four jobs, I couldn't afford an apartment, and I had no healthcare. And unfortunately, that story has not changed, and it is the lived reality for millions of us across this country. And we need to find who can pick up that mantle, who understands what that life is like and really tap into that raw energy.
KEITH: Talking to voters in the state, there was no clear front-runner in the truncated race to replace Platner or even a consensus on whether he should have gotten out of the race.
Tamara Keith, NPR News, Brunswick, Maine. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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