Maine Democratic Party Says Platner Will Have 'No Role' in Next Nominee [View all]

Source: New York Times

A top official with the Maine Democratic Party said on Tuesday night that Graham Platner’s team had been trying to “put their thumb on the scale” in the party’s planning for his replacement as the Democratic nominee for Senate, but that he would have “no role” in the selection process.

“We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner’s team that they have no role in determining our U.S. Senate nominee, nor in determining what this process looks like,” Devon Murphy-Anderson, the party’s executive director, said in a video posted on social media.

The short video represented a behind-the-scenes look at an extraordinary breach between the Democratic nominee for Senate and the party, which was among the many groups to call for Mr. Platner to step aside on Monday after he was accused of rape by a woman he had dated.

Mr. Platner said on Monday that he would “reflect on the best path forward,” but he told his campaign team in a private call that he hoped to use his leverage as the existing nominee to influence who replaced him. Mr. Platner is currently set to face Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, in a race seen as central to the battle for the Senate majority.

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