Eesh!

He aint running for office again, he could do whatever he wants and screw everyone.

As the current nominee, he does have some leverage, though it's not clear how much he has or how much he's willing to use. It's also unclear how much the Maine Democratic Party should flex to accommodate said leverage. Expelling him by top-down decree will be electorally ugly and I don't know if it's even legally possible. Best option by far is that he resign post-haste and leave politics completely until he gets his shit sorted, but that seems unlikely.

Result of the worse-case scenarios hasn't changed (i.e., Collins wins again).

He has to step down on his own by July 13. If he doesn't step down by then, he stays on the ballot.

In fact, he has 100% of the say by default, and the Maine Democratic Party needs to negotiate with that in mind. Hopefully this statement from them is just some strategic PR bluster so they can feign distance, and they already know better than they let on. If Platner isn't out by the 13th, we're already into the realm of worse-case scenarios and Sen. Collins will win again.

and making nice with all involved.

I mostly read on Twitter and I'm not on enough to know people's politics, but I gather there are Democrats angry at other Democrats, and then there are Republicans looking to just say anything bad about a Democrat. Often hard to tell what the motivations are.

the Bully-alleged rapist to "Step aside"

move on from him..

Platner Volunteers Want to Move Forward with a New Candidate

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221358734

If not, then he does have some bargaining power here.

From what I understand, he can step down by July 13. If he doesn't he stays on the ballot.

Party leadership cannot in good faith rewrite election results. If he is to go he needs to do so gracefully. Lets see if he really wants Collins out. Going to be a tough lift for the next nominee even if he does leave without fireworks.

Would deliberately pick the worst candidate. That *Consultant Firm* that is his team needs to pivot to damage control for themselves.

Something about a gravy train to wealth and power. It has come back to bite them hard. It is sad to think many Democrats will overlook a shit stain that has never held office because he says he is progressive. Reminds me of another party who is communicating with the dead for 20 minutes.

...and force us to either support his campaign or lose the Senate.

Face it. He holds the winning hand from his perspective.

The Senate seat loss for Maine would be pretty much a guarantee as far as I am concerned, if he stays.

Think of all the reasons we had to assume that [Redacted] would lose. The "Grab 'em..." comment alone should have sunk him, no?

But that's not what happened. 46% of indies voted for [Redacted] in 2016 (HRC got only 42%). The same percentage of indies voted for him again in 2024, well after he was adjudicated guilty of SA.

Summing up: About half of indies don't care about these kind of charges, apparently. Why? Couldn't say. But looking at the numbers it's hard to draw another conclusion.

So, there's at least some statistical evidence to support the idea that Platner can win the Senate seat in ME despite the allegation. That leaves Democrats in the position of either supporting his campaign or conceding the Senate to Republicans without a fight.

Recent history indicates that a majority of voters don't care about this kind of issue. (See: [Redacted] 2016 and 2024)

My only guess is that over half of independents ignore these sort of issues due to being more concerned about economic issues or just changing the status quo.

I'm sick and tired of all the gaslighting from him, his campaign and his supporters.

It's not like there were no red flags all around.

With a side of extortion.

If his campaign is in fact unrecoverable, and he actually does want Collins out, he needs to step up, be a man, and bow out gracefully.

speak then to me, to paraphrase The Bard. You can't, Randy. You only think you can. But you can't.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1322120840

What Democrat wants to run with that distiction?

Link to tweet

Thank you for sharing.

Devon Murphy-Anderson, Maine Dem Party Chair! She's tough!!

LMPV

Link to tweet

I'm very impressed with her!

coating for Ms Devon Murphy-Anderson!

She wants to beat Collins.

Planter and the team want to bully their way into losing the Senate seat in Maine.

I bet Planter was shocked when he learned Jenny Racicot kept documentation of his alleged rape. Maybe thinking it would be a case of "he said/she said?

I ran across this pattern all my career:

I'd rather be RIGHT than SUCCESSFUL.


Famous last words.

going to come out in a U.S. Senate race?

Now, his ideology has been on target, and whether one is a saint or sinner, that matters.,

Why? because fighting oligarchy is winning. It is an overwhelmingly resonant issue when explained simply.

There's a fundamental attribution error that plagues people.

And it's used very effectively to smear imperfect people to discredit their ideas, when they are really separate.

I have given the usual examples.

IDEAS ARE SEPARATE FROM PEOPLE WHO ESPOUSE THEM.

I'd want THAT kind of advice, but Carnac here sees the outcome.

"Centrists" will be pushed into the limelight and lose.

having a say _and_ the party better acknowledge that the voters want the vision he touted plus the willingness to call out Trump. In other words, Platner 2.0, without the baggage.

We don't need milquetoasts or incrementalists. The times are dire at every level. We have a nation to salvage and a world to save. We need to field candidates for that future.

Platner has never held any elected office, so he's running on his words.

There must be others in Maine who will say "We don't like Trumpism, we want healthcare for all, etc."

I haven't been to Maine yet - would love to visit, sounds like a beautiful state - so I'm just thinking out loud. Am I generally correct here? My impression of Maine's culture is that people there are independent and tough. Many areas are rural and many Maine voters hold some fairly conservative views around gun rights, for instance.

It sounds like a populist message about just rewards for hard work, being treated fairly, working together with an expectation that others will work hard too, allowing Mainers the independence to be themselves without a lot of outside ideological interference - that sort of message would resonate. Common sense. I can see how some kinds of progressive messages and candidates might NOT resonate.

The parts of Trumpism I'll bet many Mainers dislike include the foreign wars, invasion of Iran and Venezuela, causing trouble with Canada, the tariffs, the general lying and bullshit from Trump, the high prices. Susan Collins is vulnerable because she's supported Trump and his nominees.

Is this about right? Is there a candidate ready to step in right now who could address these issues?

isn't a lack of progressives, it's that we don't have many firebrands like Platner. Any milquetoast progressive that fills his slot is going to lose, just like always. It was the straight talk that fueled Bernie, and later Platner, up here. Many of us are tired of being invisible, of being too polite. These are serious times for the state, country, and world. Go BIG and fight hard! Incrementalism will not save us. We are out of of time, and have been for a while.

I think the frustration you describe is national in scope. I think Trump won twice because he made big promises.

Democratic candidates need to make big bold promises. It goes against the grain because we don't want a dictator and the president isn't supposed to have so much power. Trump bulldozed over the Constitution. I don't want a Democratic version of that. But there's no harm in being aspirational.

more to the left? Because they took the wrong lesson from Carter's loss. "People don't want extremists," not "Reagan broke the Logan Act."

I remember it well. Everything Carter did was criticized and St Ronnie was an angel sent from heaven. It was infuriating and we see where it got us.

To your point about consultants, I think that most provide a kind of lowest common denominator set of advice. That's because that approach works for most clients. It's like McDonalds. Offer a product that appeals to a broad range of people and you've got profits. Focus too much on niche groups and it's a lot of work and few clients.

Unfortunately that is exactly the wrong approach right now. On the bright side, this is probably true of Republican consultants too, and if so they may have a hard time pivoting from Trumperism.

IMHO. G'sus H. Christ.

greatly overestimated what the primary enthusiasm meant in the general.

Seems to me he was attempting to influence the party committee when it had already been decided that the committee would not make the pick.

As per NYTimes (posted by RandyF here), plans are statewide caucuses or a "pop-up" convention 7/25 weekend (assuming he withdraws)

Maine Dems will get a new candidate. And they will not be selected by the party committee. (I found it notable that Mills was not included in the list of possible replacements. A very good thing IMO. I just don't see her inspiring many of those Platner inspired.)

And once they have their new nominee, the people of Maine, and supporters from afar, will make it a winning campaign.

By July 13. If he doesn't step down they are not getting a new nominee.

The term "box office poison" comes to mind. The fact that he feels like he has a say really speaks to someone with very little situational awareness.

They might have trouble making that work seeing as how everything that happens next depends on his decision tos tay or go. So either way he gets a say.

The down ballot fallout from this is going to be brutal.

I think he was astroturfed and maneuvered into this position to screw Democrats, and Bernie and friends fell for it.

It is 9:30 ET on Wednesday and he has not dropped out. If there is a plan B to get him off the ticket, now is the time for it, because it doesn’t appear like he is stepping down.

This might make him not drop out.

See my comment #58

on additional arguments to defend what cannot be defended and rationalize the irrational as he goes into campaigning season.

I saw a video of a young gal* with long blonde hair being very firm about the party not allowing any Platner input. I think it’s a big mistake. Hear me out:

In Maine Democratic Party’s attempt to be open and honest about a potential replacement candidate, they are shooting themselves in the foot by not assuring the Platner supporters that Platner’s platform will be embraced by the next candidate. After all, it’s the platform that they want. What he stressed and campaigned on. Voters made it clear they don’t want Mills. Period. Now the party has to decide which Dem gubernatorial candidate is better as the Governor and which gubernatorial candidate can be harvested to run as the US Senator. That’s how I see it. Platner is toxic, but his policies resonated with the voters. You can’t ignore that and expect to beat Collins in November.

*This gal was apparently from the Maine Democratic Party and represented their stance which sounded like they want to wipe away any evidence that Platner ever existed.

His volunteer campaign network feel betrayed. His campaign doesn't get to threaten anyone, anymore. He has no base, no support, no money, no endorsements, no nothing.

Oh its OVER OVER

— AdotSad (@adotsad.bsky.social) 2026-07-06T20:37:07.865Z

still want the same agenda items he offered on his campaign page.

Yea, he is toxic, as I said.

But, the people who voted for him still want a candidate who promises what he promised.

The term ‘young gal’ is probably before your time.

Yes, I am referring to a woman. In this case a younger woman, she looked to be in her early thirties.

To me, that qualifies as a “young gal”.

It is not demeaning, degrading, or sexist. It is mean to refer to a woman younger than about 35. The true definition probably refers to someone even younger than that, but I wasn’t sure of her age so I just used the broad term of ‘young gal’.

while HIS wife was dying of cancer gets little to no mention at all.

Nah..just one of those Republican "youthful indiscretions" AGAIN.

And, he had been a Congressional Rep.

Platner hasn't been elected to anything, so what does he have to lose?