{"id":1006,"date":"2026-07-07T05:07:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T05:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006"},"modified":"2026-07-07T05:07:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T05:07:11","slug":"can-democrats-still-replace-graham-platner-yes-but-its-complicated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006","title":{"rendered":"Can Democrats Still Replace Graham Platner? Yes, But It\u2019s Complicated"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

With Democrats abandoning Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner after new sexual assault accusations dropped on Monday, the party is evaluating options on how to move forward with the general election less than four months away.<\/p>\n

Read more Platner Accuser Says He Stopped To \u2018Apologize,\u2019 Then Raped Her Anyway<\/a><\/p>\n

There is still time for Maine Democrats to replace Platner on November\u2019s general election ballot.<\/p>\n

If Platner were to withdraw by 5 p.m. next Monday, July 13, Democrats would then have until 5 p.m. on Monday, July 27, to select a new nominee. Maine Democrats would not hold another primary. Instead, party officials would choose a replacement. The deadlines are designed to give election officials enough time to finalize and print general election ballots.<\/p>\n

If Platner remains in the race after the July 13 cutoff, Democrats cannot replace him, and his name will remain on the November ballot. Maine law allows later replacements only if the candidate dies or suffers an incapacitating illness or injury.<\/p>\n

Similar to Democrats replacing President Joe Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race, Maine Democrats could choose a new nominee without holding another primary.<\/p>\n

Read more Still With Him: Stephen King Sticks With Graham Platner Following Rape Allegation<\/a><\/p>\n

Platner, who easily won last month\u2019s Democratic primary, is trying to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in one of the cycle\u2019s most closely watched Senate races. His campaign was thrown into turmoil after former girlfriends described his volatile behavior and claimed he knew the meaning behind his Nazi tattoo. On Monday, POLITICO published a report in which a woman accused him of raping her in 2021. Platner denied the claim.<\/p>\n

The accusation led multiple Democrats, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and the Maine Democratic Party, to call on Platner to withdraw.<\/p>\n

In a video released Monday, he said the accusation was false and added that he was taking time to \u201creflect on the best path forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

pic.twitter.com\/9itIt4Mw25<\/p>\n

\u2014 Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 6, 2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That leaves Maine Democrats with less than a week to determine whether to continue pressuring him to step aside or prepare to move forward with him as the party\u2019s nominee.<\/p>\n

Read more Belgium Shot Down On Appeal To Keep U.S. Star Sidelined As Europe\u2019s Tantrum Falls Short<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Democrats abandoning Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner after new sexual assault accusations dropped on Monday, the party is evaluating options on how to move forward with the general election less than four months away.There is still time for Maine Democrats to replace Platner on November\u2019s general election ballot.If Platner were to withdraw by 5 p.m. next Monday, July 13, Democrats would then have until 5 p.m. on Monday, July 27, to select a new nominee. Maine Democrats would not hold another primary. Instead, party officials would choose a replacement. The deadlines are designed to give election officials enough time to finalize and print general election ballots.If Platner remains in the race after the July 13 cutoff, Democrats cannot replace him, and his name will remain on the November ballot. Maine law allows later replacements only if the candidate dies or suffers an incapacitating illness or injury.Similar to Democrats replacing President Joe Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race, Maine Democrats could choose a new nominee without holding another primary.Platner, who easily won last month\u2019s Democratic primary, is trying to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in one of the cycle\u2019s most closely watched Senate races. His campaign was thrown into turmoil after former girlfriends described his volatile behavior and claimed he knew the meaning behind his Nazi tattoo. On Monday, POLITICO published a report in which a woman accused him of raping her in 2021. Platner denied the claim.The accusation led multiple Democrats, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and the Maine Democratic Party, to call on Platner to withdraw.In a video released Monday, he said the accusation was false and added that he was taking time to \u201creflect on the best path forward.\u201dpic.twitter.com\/9itIt4Mw25\u2014 Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 6, 2026That leaves Maine Democrats with less than a week to determine whether to continue pressuring him to step aside or prepare to move forward with him as the party\u2019s nominee. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-2"],"yoast_head":"\nCan Democrats Still Replace Graham Platner? Yes, But It\u2019s Complicated - Blue Route Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can Democrats Still Replace Graham Platner? Yes, But It\u2019s Complicated - Blue Route Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With Democrats abandoning Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner after new sexual assault accusations dropped on Monday, the party is evaluating options on how to move forward with the general election less than four months away.There is still time for Maine Democrats to replace Platner on November\u2019s general election ballot.If Platner were to withdraw by 5 p.m. next Monday, July 13, Democrats would then have until 5 p.m. on Monday, July 27, to select a new nominee. Maine Democrats would not hold another primary. Instead, party officials would choose a replacement. The deadlines are designed to give election officials enough time to finalize and print general election ballots.If Platner remains in the race after the July 13 cutoff, Democrats cannot replace him, and his name will remain on the November ballot. Maine law allows later replacements only if the candidate dies or suffers an incapacitating illness or injury.Similar to Democrats replacing President Joe Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race, Maine Democrats could choose a new nominee without holding another primary.Platner, who easily won last month\u2019s Democratic primary, is trying to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in one of the cycle\u2019s most closely watched Senate races. His campaign was thrown into turmoil after former girlfriends described his volatile behavior and claimed he knew the meaning behind his Nazi tattoo. On Monday, POLITICO published a report in which a woman accused him of raping her in 2021. Platner denied the claim.The accusation led multiple Democrats, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and the Maine Democratic Party, to call on Platner to withdraw.In a video released Monday, he said the accusation was false and added that he was taking time to \u201creflect on the best path forward.\u201dpic.twitter.com\/9itIt4Mw25\u2014 Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 6, 2026That leaves Maine Democrats with less than a week to determine whether to continue pressuring him to step aside or prepare to move forward with him as the party\u2019s nominee.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blue Route Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-07T05:07:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1006#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1006\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c\"},\"headline\":\"Can Democrats Still Replace Graham Platner? Yes, But It\u2019s Complicated\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T05:07:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1006\"},\"wordCount\":396,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1006#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b34402ff63bbcc9585942f696a4d837e.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1006#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1006\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1006\",\"name\":\"Can Democrats Still Replace Graham Platner? Yes, But It\u2019s Complicated - Blue Route Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1006#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1006#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b34402ff63bbcc9585942f696a4d837e.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T05:07:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1006#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1006\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1006#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b34402ff63bbcc9585942f696a4d837e.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b34402ff63bbcc9585942f696a4d837e.avif\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?p=1006#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can Democrats Still Replace Graham Platner? Yes, But It\u2019s Complicated\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Blue Route Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blueroutejournal.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can Democrats Still Replace Graham Platner? Yes, But It\u2019s Complicated - Blue Route Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can Democrats Still Replace Graham Platner? Yes, But It\u2019s Complicated - Blue Route Journal","og_description":"With Democrats abandoning Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner after new sexual assault accusations dropped on Monday, the party is evaluating options on how to move forward with the general election less than four months away.There is still time for Maine Democrats to replace Platner on November\u2019s general election ballot.If Platner were to withdraw by 5 p.m. next Monday, July 13, Democrats would then have until 5 p.m. on Monday, July 27, to select a new nominee. Maine Democrats would not hold another primary. Instead, party officials would choose a replacement. The deadlines are designed to give election officials enough time to finalize and print general election ballots.If Platner remains in the race after the July 13 cutoff, Democrats cannot replace him, and his name will remain on the November ballot. Maine law allows later replacements only if the candidate dies or suffers an incapacitating illness or injury.Similar to Democrats replacing President Joe Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race, Maine Democrats could choose a new nominee without holding another primary.Platner, who easily won last month\u2019s Democratic primary, is trying to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in one of the cycle\u2019s most closely watched Senate races. His campaign was thrown into turmoil after former girlfriends described his volatile behavior and claimed he knew the meaning behind his Nazi tattoo. On Monday, POLITICO published a report in which a woman accused him of raping her in 2021. Platner denied the claim.The accusation led multiple Democrats, including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and the Maine Democratic Party, to call on Platner to withdraw.In a video released Monday, he said the accusation was false and added that he was taking time to \u201creflect on the best path forward.\u201dpic.twitter.com\/9itIt4Mw25\u2014 Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 6, 2026That leaves Maine Democrats with less than a week to determine whether to continue pressuring him to step aside or prepare to move forward with him as the party\u2019s nominee.","og_url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006","og_site_name":"Blue Route Journal","article_published_time":"2026-07-07T05:07:11+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c"},"headline":"Can Democrats Still Replace Graham Platner? Yes, But It\u2019s Complicated","datePublished":"2026-07-07T05:07:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006"},"wordCount":396,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b34402ff63bbcc9585942f696a4d837e.avif","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006","url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006","name":"Can Democrats Still Replace Graham Platner? Yes, But It\u2019s Complicated - Blue Route Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b34402ff63bbcc9585942f696a4d837e.avif","datePublished":"2026-07-07T05:07:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b34402ff63bbcc9585942f696a4d837e.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b34402ff63bbcc9585942f696a4d837e.avif","width":1200,"height":675},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?p=1006#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can Democrats Still Replace Graham Platner? Yes, But It\u2019s Complicated"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/","name":"Blue Route Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/19da116f8d79cf8987781569801c6b7c","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/blueroutejournal.com"],"url":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blueroutejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}