Recent developments have created significant uncertainty in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate race in Maine. Graham Platner, once a promising candidate for the Democrats, is facing calls to withdraw following accusations of misconduct. This situation has left party strategists scrambling for a replacement as they aim to maintain competitiveness in the race against incumbent Susan Collins.
Transcript
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Graham Platner was initially seen as a pivotal figure for Democrats aiming to reclaim the Senate. However, in light of recent accusations, including a sexual assault claim reported by Politico, Democratic leaders are urging him to exit the Maine Senate race. Platner has categorically denied these allegations, stating, “any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically untrue.” The situation is further complicated by earlier controversies involving Platner.
To explore the future of the campaign, NPR’s Scott Detrow spoke with Adam Jentleson, a Democratic strategist and president of the Searchlight Institute. Here are the insights from their conversation.
ADAM JENTLESON: Thanks for having me.
DETROW: Is there still a viable path for Platner’s campaign?
JENTLESON: No, it’s absolutely not. I’m surprised Platner hasn’t dropped out already. Maybe he drops out by the time this segment is over. But he’s gone, and, you know, the sooner, the better so – because Maine Democratic Party rules do allow the party to select a replacement as long as he drops out before Monday. So the clock is ticking. I think, you know, Democrats still have a great chance to win this seat if he drops out, so, you know, he should get out sooner rather than later.
DETROW: How should the party handle the selection of a new nominee?
JENTLESON: I think you have to figure out a claim to legitimacy for this new nominee. You know, we saw how, you know, not actually being elected by voters dogged Kamala Harris as the nominee when she was picked by, you know, essentially party insiders to be the nominee. You know, she was vice president, but she was – she did not win the Democratic nomination in the traditional way. So I think you got to apply the same standard here. You know, there were seven Democratic candidates who ran for two statewide slots about a month ago in the primary, right? There was the race for senator, and there’s the race for governor.
DETROW: Yeah.
JENTLESON: In those seven candidates, there are a lot of credible nominees, all of whom, I think, would have a solid chance at beating Susan Collins. The only one who can’t is Platner himself. You know, and all of them would have some claim to legitimacy because a lot of people cast their votes for them. I think, you know, holding a convention that you have to plan in less than a month and then, you know, crafting rules and bylaws that everybody agrees to, you could make it work, but it’s – you know, if you use subjective standards to choose the nominee at that convention, I think you’re going to run into a lot of trouble and you run a real risk of leaving the party divided, which would be a real disaster as we head into the general election against Susan Collins.
DETROW: Given Platner’s appeal as an outsider, how can the party unite his supporters with a new candidate?
JENTLESON: Well, I think there’s risk in overstating that case, to be honest with you. I think, you know, the primary that Maine had a month ago was sort of a split screen, right? Because, you know, on the Senate side, you had people casting their vote for Platner, who, as you say, is an antiestablishment politician. But on the governor side, on the same day, those voters went to the polls and elected Chellie Pingree, who’s – or, excuse me, Hannah Pingree, the daughter of Chellie Pingree, who is, you know, an establishment politician. You know, she’s wonderful. I think she’s going to be a great governor, and I think she’s got a great chance to win, you know? But she wasn’t an antiestablishment candidate, you know?
And when you look at the votes, you know, about 156,000 Mainers cast their votes for Graham Platner, you know? And the guy who is sort of positioned as the antiestablishment candidate, you know, who Graham is trying to, you know, railroad through as his replacement, Troy Jackson, only got about, you know, 45,000 votes. So 100,000 Mainers voted for Graham Platner but then supported either Hannah Pingree or Nirav Shah, as well.
DETROW: Do these developments affect the Democratic Party’s credibility, especially considering the MeToo movement?
JENTLESON: Not if they get rid of him. I think, you know, one of the things the Republicans did is when they were faced with these questions, they stuck with them. They stuck with Trump. They stuck with Matt Gaetz. They stuck with any number of nominees after knowing deeply immoral things about them. So as long as we take care of business here and replace him with somebody we can all get behind, I think we can hold our heads high.
DETROW: And in 30 seconds or less, you still think Susan Collins is beatable?
JENTLESON: I absolutely do. You know, this is a very favorable national environment for Democrats. Trump’s numbers are terrible. Susan Collins has been, you know, a die-hard supporter of Trump time and again. She’s lost her independent streak. You know, we just have to get somebody in this race who can just, you know, be normal and, you know, make the case and prosecute the case against Susan Collins. And in that case, I think this seat is still very winnable.
DETROW: Put “be normal” on a bumper sticker. That is Adam Jentleson, Democratic strategist, founder of Searchlight Institute think tank. Thanks so much.
JENTLESON: Thank you.
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