Maine’s Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner will have no role in choosing his potential replacement, Devon Murphy-Anderson, the executive director of the Democrat Party in Maine, made clear.
Murphy-Anderson said in a video message that they stand firm in believing that Platner should drop out of the race, making that position clear following a woman alleging that Platner broke into her home and sexually assaulted her.
The executive director said Platner’s team has reached out to them, attempting to “put their thumb on the scale” of their process to find a potential replacement for the Democrat nominee.
“As you know, the Maine Democratic Party has been working around the clock to develop a process to replace our U.S. Senate nominee that is open, inclusive, transparent, and fair. The integrity of this process is just as important as the outcome, and we are committed to ensuring that Democrats across our state can have confidence in both,” she said in the video update.
“Unfortunately, Graham Platner’s team has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like. We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner’s team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, nor in determining what this process looks like,” she continued, adding that they also called on Platner to drop out of the race, yet again.
“We have also reiterated that Graham Platner must drop out of this race, so that Democrats in Maine can focus on defeating Susan Collins this November,” she added. “We look forward to making this process public as soon as Graham Platner formally withdraws from this race.”
The renewed calls for Platner to drop out follow new rape allegations as well as allegations from a former girlfriend who claimed Platner would pull condoms off during sex. While Platner initially said his team was taking time to “reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins.”
All the while, his team is still actively searching for a Research Director, according to a post on Daybook dated July 7.
“The ideal candidate will have experience conducting opposition and self-research for a federal campaign, be highly organized, and bring a sharp, analytical, and rapid-response approach to political strategy,” the job listing states in part, offering a pay range of $7,000 to $11,000 per month.
Several prominent Democrats who originally backed Platner have since withdrawn their support, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA).
