Platner Must Go. And His Replacement Should Reflect the Voters' Choices.

No sexual predators, regardless of party, should serve in public office.

Bottom line: Platner must step down from the Maine Senate race after being accused of sexual assault, and Maine Democrats should replace him on the ballot with a progressive populist (and get as much public input as possible).

Earlier today, Politico revealed that Jenny Racicot, an ex-girlfriend of progressive insurgent candidate and Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner, says he sexually assaulted her while they were dating. They confirmed that she shared this claim with multiple friends long before he entered politics and discussed it in emails with her therapist.

This is a credible allegation, and one that follows his social media comments victim-blaming survivors of sexual assault, reports of adultery and emotionally abusive behavior and physical intimidation in past relationships – together indicating a long pattern of disrespect and violence towards women.

Our position at Rogan’s List is and remains: no sexual predators in public office. And the fact that Republicans do not share this standard is not an excuse for the left to do the same. If we’re going to claim the high road, we need to walk it. The whole question really doesn’t call for much more commentary than that. Platner should withdraw from this race, now.

At this point, whether that will happen is still up in the air. Platner has denied the sexual assault claims, but announced he is taking time to “reflect on the best path forward” for his campaign. The leadership of the Maine Democratic Party, Maine’s legislative leaders, Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren and Platner supporters like Rep. Ro Khanna, Sen. Ruben Gallego, Our Revolution, Track AIPAC and End Citizens United have called for him to step down. If he withdraws before this coming Monday, he can still be replaced on the ballot. 🗣️ We should be reaching out to the Platner campaign by e-mail at info@grahamforsenate.com, especially if we have volunteered or donated, and let him know he should step down immediately. 🗣️

UPDATE, 7/8: After several days of hemming and hawing, Platner announced he is dropping out of the race Wednesday evening, although as of yet he has not formally filed the paperwork to do so.

After that comes the challenge of defeating Susan Collins in spite of him. If he withdraws by the deadline, the state Democratic party committee has until July 27th to name a replacement to go on the ballot. There is no legally mandated process for how they should make that decision.

In approaching this, it’s worth acknowledging that Platner has already gone through a series of alarming revelations that could have derailed his candidacy, and many of his supporters did not waver. We should take into consideration why that is, not as a matter of recrimination but because it’s going to be important for us as we move forward.

Platner is a progressive, an economic populist and a political outsider who has made challenging wealth inequality, billionaire rule and corporate influence in both parties the heart of his campaign. He has called for big solutions to big problems and stood uncompromising on his principles. He struck folks as having a very authentic and very deep anger about the systemic challenges we face and talked about them like an actual person, instead of a poll-tested purveyor of talking points. He seemed, in short, real. He struck a chord with people, seemed like what they’d been waiting for from a candidate for major office, and that enthusiasm, that feeling of “finally, someone who gets it!”, created real loyalty and with it a willingness to accept some human flaws, even increasingly serious ones.

His focus on taking on the powers that be undermined the efforts to criticize those flaws. When folks connected to Democratic establishment politicians and corporate media spotlighted his controversies, supporters questioned their motivations and honesty, and their arguments for doing so were frankly hard to poke holes in. Platner’s candidacy explicitly represented a threat to the position of these gatekeepers, so why should they be trusted to act as neutral arbiters, deciding what was and wasn’t important enough to be disqualifying?

In short, his rise and his resilience are both closely tied to deep institutional distrust that’s not going anywhere. People liked him, liked what he stood for, and were fed up with many of the people who warned us about him. And much as these charges validate every concern about Platner’s character, they are not going to make voters any less hungry for the willingness to fight against a flailing status quo that drew them to Platner in the first place.

Add to this a particularly deep cynicism among voters we are likely to need to unseat a five-term senator about how the Democratic Party has handled past nomination processes. Having a crucial race in which a candidate disfavored by party leadership is replaced by party leadership, no matter how necessary or how good the reason is, is going to feed that cynicism.

There will be a lot of temptation for the Maine Democrats to replace Platner with a safe, palatable candidate fitting the usual mainline Democratic mold. The names of Governor Janet Mills (who was so far behind Platner in their primary she could not make it to Election Day) and retiring Rep. Jared Golden (a pro-trade war, pro-Iran War centrist has crossed the aisle to support Trump’s agenda as much as any House Democrat) have been tossed around. They should resist that temptation.

Primary voters in Maine made their preferences clear. They wanted what Platner was offering, the rage, the rejection of politics as usual and the Democratic establishment, the concentration on of the pernicious impact of billionaires on our society, and the desire to take big swings to combat it. To move forward and to maximize our chances of emerging out of this mess to unseat Susan Collins and flip the Senate, their voices and choices must be respected.

Maine Democrats should select a candidate who can credibly claim the mantle of insurgency that Platner has disqualified himself from carrying. One who is immediately available is former state senate president Troy Jackson, who just ran a strong progressive populist campaign for governor that was backed by many of the same folks who supported Platner, but they can cast a wide net as long as their final pick is acceptable to Platner’s primary voters. They need to take this chance to show the people they’re listening rather than tell them what they should want.

The state Democratic committee should also recognize that absolutely no one wants them picking the Senate nominee. They need to make it clear that they are actively seeking the input of the rank-and-file, and commit themselves to being guided by that feedback. There have been reports that they are considering a pop-up convention or a statewide caucus the weekend of July 25th to effectively re-do the primary. Those options should be pursued if at all feasible. (UDPATE: The Maine Democratic Party will be holding a 600-person convention, with voting delegates selected by the county Democratic committees and including the state committee members.) 🗣️ Let’s urge Maine’s Democratic leadership to respect the public, commit to replacing Platner with another insurgent populist, and make a proactive effort to seek their views on their choice. We can send a message to party headquarters here and find contact info for members of the state committee here and for the chairs of the county committees here. 🗣️

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