Platner's voters are reeling as Maine Democratic Party races to choose his replacement

Maine Senate hopeful, Democrat David Costello, speaks with a potential voter as he gathers signatures, required to be considered at the party's convention, in downtown Brunswick, Maine on July 12. Tamara Keith/NPR hide caption

BRUNSWICK, Maine – On a sunny Sunday, Senate hopeful David Costello worked the sidewalk in downtown Brunswick asking for signatures.

"Woud you happen to be a registered Democrat?" he asked one woman before engaging in a back and forth conversation. She asks if he's progressive.

Costello is one of several Maine Democrats who see the fall of Graham Platner's senate campaign as an opportunity to represent Maine in Washington.

Platner won June's Democratic primary election handily. But allegations of rape by a former romantic partner last week forced him to drop out of the race. It leaves Maine Democrats scrambling to find a new nominee before the July 27 deadline to put a name on the ballot. Platner denies the allegations.

The Maine Democratic Party will hold a convention on July 25 where 601 delegates will choose that nominee. That candidate will need to capitalize on the enthusiasm Platner generated to defeat Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

An unstoppable incumbent or a top pick-up opportunity?

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, leans down to listen to a young paradegoer at the annual Moxie Day Parade is Lisbon, Maine on July 11. Susan Sharon/Maine Public hide caption

Collins remained quiet at the end of Platner's campaign but at the annual Moxie Day parade Saturday in Lisbon, Maine, she walked with volunteers in red shirts.

"People appreciate the fact that I provide steady leadership — and the word steady does come up a lot," Collins said at the parade, "and that I continue to work really hard for Maine."

Collins has represented Maine in the Senate since 1997. She has managed to stay in her seat even as Maine has voted for Democrats for president statewide, including in 2020 when the state voted for Joe Biden. Collins last won reelection that year with a comfortable margin — more than 8.5%.

At the annual Moxie Day Parade in Lisbon, Maine, supporters of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, march with signs and giant letters spelling S-U-S-A-N, on July 11. Susan Sharon/Maine Public hide caption

Democrats see Maine as pivotal to their chances to retake the Senate. Platner's departure from the race puts pressure on the party to choose a replacement candidate who can win over Platner's loyal voters and appeal to independents who are key to Collins' electoral success. Maine state Senate President Mattie Daughtry, a Democrat, is encouraged to see many of the candidates running on Platner's progressive platform of transformational change. But she's worried about voters being turned off by the process.

"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?'" Daughtry said.

Daughtry did not endorse Platner and she quickly called on him to drop out of the race after the rape allegations surfaced. Still, she thinks his message resonated.

"I ran for office when I was 25 because I was really really angry. I was working 4 jobs. I couldn't afford an apartment and I had no healthcare. And unfortunately that story has not changed and it is a lived reality for millions of us across this country," Daughtry said.

"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," she added.

Supporters weigh what's next

Just one month ago, Alan Crichton was playing saxophone at Graham Platner's primary night victory party. At a brewery in Belfast, Maine this weekend, he noted his ambivalence.

"I have so many mixed feelings. I like the guy. I like his message a great deal and I think he galvanized people who are just kind of sick of what's happening," Crichton said.

Now, though, Crichton calls the situation "a big old mess." As a Democrat, he hoped the charismatic populist Platner would be the one to finally knock out Collins. Though, at this point, he'll vote for whoever the Maine Democratic party selects.

"I hope it's somebody who can kind of carry the torch that Graham kind of lit and held out there very strongly. He was a very inspiring guy," he said.

Joseph Berube of Northport, Maine, gave up on politics in 1972 after Democrat George McGovern lost the race for president in a landslide. This year, though, he got excited about Graham Platner's candidacy for U.S. Senate. Tamara Keith/NPR hide caption

Joseph Berube is an independent voter who lives in Northport, Maine. After decades disengaged from politics, Graham Platner sparked something in him he could hardly believe.

"Because I am so apolitical," Berube said, "I want nothing to do with it. [But] I was actually considering giving money to his campaign."

Charlotte Agell is on the opposite end of the engagement spectrum. A registered Democrat, she is very politically involved and has been for decades. She met Platner early on in his campaign.

"One of our neighbors said, 'hey would you like to come to my backyard and meet Graham Platner?' I had sort of heard of him," she remembered. "When I went to that back yard event, I just by happenstance walked in with him. It was me and Graham Platner walking in."

By the time that event ended, she had signed up to volunteer for his campaign.

"I felt a kinship with everything that was coming out of his mouth basically. Very smart. Good at identifying the problem," Agell said.

Core to Platner's economic populist message was that the system has been failing regular people while the rich and powerful get more rich and more powerful. He had faced controversies throughout his campaign. He easily won the nomination anyway. But then came the rape allegation. Berube believes the rush to judgment was too swift.

Elections

Graham Platner makes it official in Maine, submitting paperwork to leave Senate race

"I agree with women's rights and women shouldn't be abused," he said. "But to have one person come up and stand up and say, 'he abused me,' and then that's it? It's just not really fair to him.""I just think they didn't want him," Berube added.

Berube says Democrats chopped the legs out from under someone who had brought people back into politics.

"He was bringing in people like me and that's what's going to do this. And you know what, we're in the middle of a war to save this country," Berube said. "And we have the other side that's fighting with the gloves off and we're putting the gloves on. We're in trouble."

Charlotte Agell has been processing it all a little differently. Agell admits to being a chronic optimist but says this was never about one man.

"You know, we're not a cult. We're just a movement that wants to take back this country for the middle and the working class," she said.

Agell wants to believe this massive disruption won't sap the momentum for change she felt.

"It's really been like a rocket ship. We've all been on it. And that's why, when these very serious things have been alleged and rightly he has dropped out of the race, we're kinda still flying at 90 million miles an hour and saying 'who can take the controls' and we're going to figure that out," Agell said.

State Senator Chip Curry says the state party is doing the best it can with a tight timeline.

"It's a winnable race and we've got some great people. We've got to get there," Curry said.

There are more than half a dozen announced candidates. And for Democrats the stakes couldn't be higher. No clear frontrunner has emerged from the candidates who have put themselves forward to be considered. It's also not clear if one candidate can capitalize on the momentum that Platner was building in Maine. Still, some are remaining optimistic.

"People are going to grumble. I've grumbled a little bit. But I think we'll get through this," Senate hopeful David Costello predicted. "I think whoever the nominee is will have tremendous support."