By Maine Democrats are scrambling to find a replacement for Graham Platner after the party’s Senate nominee suspended his campaign following a rape allegation.
Platner announced the decision Wednesday in a video posted to X, two days after 41-year-old Maine resident Jenny Racicot accused him of forcibly having sex with her in 2021.
The sudden collapse has opened a frantic intraparty fight over who will take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins in one of the country’s most closely watched Senate races.
Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson is already moving. Jackson, a fifth-generation logger backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday to create a Senate exploratory committee.
“This is something I never considered, but if Graham’s stepping away, I am very, very interested and think I’m the best person to replace him,” Jackson told the Bangor Daily News on Monday, shortly before calling on Platner to withdraw.
Jackson ran for governor on a platform that included free universal child care for families earning less than 125 percent of the state’s average income and a commission to address rising property taxes. He also faced criticism over his abortion record, though he defended his legislative efforts to expand access to the procedure. His ties to Platner, who supported his gubernatorial campaign, could quickly become a Republican attack line.
Nirav Shah, the former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, announced his own Senate bid Wednesday.
“We must defeat Susan Collins, hold Donald Trump accountable, and fight for a government that delivers for everyday Mainers, not the privileged few. That’s why today, I am proud to announce my candidacy for the United States Senate,” Shah wrote on X.
Shah is expected to lean heavily on his role leading the Maine CDC during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as his later position as principal deputy director at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under the Biden administration. He raised significant money in the Democratic gubernatorial primary but finished behind presumptive nominee Hannah Pingree after ranked-choice voting consolidated support elsewhere.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows is also being discussed, though she has not entered the race. Bellows, a former head of the Maine ACLU, gained national attention in 2024 when she attempted to remove Donald Trump from Maine’s presidential ballot. She finished fourth in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.
I'm in.⁰⁰The people of Maine have been building something real – a movement that deserves to go all the way to November. I've spent my entire career taking on tough fights for working people, and I'm not stopping now. I'm running for United States Senate, and together we are… pic.twitter.com/k3ITFbkwEg
— Shenna Bellows (@shennabellows) July 9, 2026
Bellows previously challenged Collins in 2014 and lost by a wide margin.
Others have thrown in their hats, as well. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, 77, could also reemerge. Mills entered the Senate race at the urging of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer but suspended active campaigning in April, citing financial concerns while saying she still had “the fight.” In June, she said she had not formally withdrawn and remained on the ballot.
Dan Kleban, co-founder of Maine Beer Company, announced late Wednesday that he would seek the Democratic nomination after previously dropping out to support Mills.
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the countless calls from Mainers encouraging me to consider this race. I love Maine and everything it has given me. It’s where my wife of 22 years and I have raised our teenage twins,” Kleban wrote on Twitter. “And after talking with them, I’m in.”
The Cook Political Report has described Kleban as a possible “outsider candidate” who could appeal to some of the working-class voters Platner tried to court without carrying the baggage of a recent primary defeat, explained The Daily Caller.
Jordan Wood is also back in the Senate race. Wood, a former chief of staff to ex-Rep. Katie Porter, had shifted to Maine’s 2nd Congressional District race after Rep. Jared Golden announced his retirement but finished third in that Democratic primary.
“I’m Jordan Wood, progressive reformer running for US Senate in Maine to defeat Susan Collins,” Wood posted Thursday morning.
According to the Cook Political Report, the leading names being discussed include Shah, Jackson, Bellows, and Kleban. But Maine Democrats have not previously dealt with a vacancy like this so late in the cycle, and more candidates could still emerge.
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