Breaking NYT: Platner lays out his conditions for withdrawal

[senseandsensibility]

According to Peter Baker on bluesky, a Platner aide said "If he was to step down it would only be with a guarantee of being replaced by a candidate who he believes is true to the values and vision and policy agenda of the campaign that Maine voted for."

[WhiskeyGrinder]

1. lol THAT will go over well

this guy is such a fuckin amateur

[hlthe2b]

123. Agree. But his most devoted supporters may not see it that way. They may well see him NOW as a

liability and despicable who has to go, but what he supposedly was going to pursue on a policy agenda is still likely pretty important to them. As I'd like to unite the electorate on whomever might be the replacement candidate, I do think this may be something to keep in mind. Kicking more sand in those (former?) supporter's face to show "who is boss," from the Dem Party powers-that-be is probably not a good strategy.

[in2herbs]

2. Good. He's leaving it up to Mainers and no one else!!! Now can we stop posting about this???? nt

[duckworth969]

15. Thank you!

Maine voters decide, not DU pundits!

[boston bean]

50. This is now national news and problem for dems everywhere.

You think this seat is about Maine ONLY?

[Grim Chieftain]

67. Yep, how he would vote would affect all of us

[Cha]

73. Exactly! It's about the Majority in the Senate

too.

We're not going to stop posting about it.

[wnylib]

69. Is he leaving it up to Maine voters when he demands the right to choose his replacement?

Last edited Tue Jul 7, 2026, 12:39 PM - Edit history (1)

The Maine voters would not be choosing the candidare.

[Bettie]

94. He's asking that his voters' choice on issues

be considered.

For example: choosing Mills who is pro-corporation, pro-billionaire, anti-union, and basically the polar opposite of what Platner talked about and people voted for is of insulting to the people who supported him.

It shows them that what ordinary people want doesn't matter to the party leadership. At. All.

Mills would be a gift to Collins.

[obamanut2012]

76. Nah, not until he steps down

[yardwork]

90. Control of the Senate is a national priority.

[BannonsLiver]

3. I'm no expert but I don't think it works that way.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Is it a euphemism for himself? Because the voters knew a lot.

Conditions for withdrawal? He hasn't got a lot of leverage there.

[LisaL]

14. I think he has a lot of leverage because the rules say he has to withdraw

for the party to nominate someone else. And there is less than a week left for him to do it.

[Wiz Imp]

31. Huh? He has total leverage. He's the nominee. Only he himself can wiithdrawal

He can't be forcibly removed.

[TommyT139]

5. So he wants approval rights before leaving?

That kinda says it all rights there, if the reporting is accurate.

[mahina]

6. Oh brother. Bullies going to bully. If we havenʻt learned that yet, idk.

[eShirl]

7. I think he means Troy Jackson.

They were both endorsed by Bernie Sanders.

[Cha]

75. Why would anyone "endorse" two

candidates for the same Senate seat?

Ty.

[PunkinPi]

91. I think BS endorsed Jackson for governor, not the senate.

Hope you're doing well, Cha.

[Cha]

96. Oh I see, Mahalo, PunkinPi..

Now he's asked Planter to step aside.'

Good! Doing okay, Hope you are!

[PunkinPi]

99. Hanging in there. :) nt

[lapucelle]

97. The guy who came in third in the primary?

Doesn’t seem like the voters wanted him. Janet Mills won that primary and the general election twice.

[PunkinPi]

98. Yes. I hadn't heard of the guy until today and didn't know BS endorsed him until I looked it up (also today).

I was rooting for Mills in the primary on the sidelines of VA bc GP appeared to be a hot mess and unvetted. Looks like there's a push from Bernie world (Hasan Piker) to get Jackson to run if GP steps down. And I agree that it doesn't seem like the voters wanted Jackson.

[lostincalifornia]

8. what bullshit.

[GJGCA]

9. GB Shaw supposedly said...

“Madam, we’ve already established what you are. Now we are merely haggling over the price.”

[QueerDuck]

89. Ha! I've always loved that quote!

[Vote4Kam]

10. LOL

Accused rapist threatens not to withdraw until his demands are met.

[W_HAMILTON]

19. And what a great kickoff to a campaign, being handpicked by the alleged rapist you replaced.

[WinningAgain]

41. X100

[johnp3907]

11. Not sure about this guy's "values and vision."

🤔

[RandySF]

12. He's holding a gun to the party's head.

[sheshe2]

21. Hostage situation.

Meet my demands or the party gets it!

[lastlib]

68. "Drop it! or...."

[sheshe2]

23. Yup.

Hostage situation

[niyad]

13. He thinks he is in charge?

[LisaL]

16. He could stay on. I don't think they could force him to withdraw.

They can't expel him from anything (like they could Swalwell) since he isn't in anything.

[niyad]

18. Persuasion might work.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

20. almost like he has control issues or something

[niyad]

22. true

[duckworth969]

17. Hang tough Graham

[Boo1]

24. Defending rapists.

Not a great look.

[-misanthroptimist]

27. Oh, was he convicted?

I must have missed that. Must have been a remarkably fast trial.

[Boo1]

28. Because ALL rapists are convicted.

[-misanthroptimist]

32. That's right

Until then, they are accused rapists.

[Boo1]

35. Rapists everywhere

thank you.
.
And no, you become a rapist when you RAPE somebody.

[-misanthroptimist]

36. That's true

However, only two people (usually) know that -the victim and the rapist.

The rest of us have to wait for the facts to be sorted and a conviction before we start calling people rapists.

Apropos of nothing, maybe, what's your opinion of Bill Clinton? Is he a rapist?

[sarisataka]

39. I can think of someone who we have long called a rapist

Yet has never been convicted.

No one doubted the accusers.

[-misanthroptimist]

42. Who is that someone?

If it's [Redacted], then he's been adjudicated of sexual assault. "Rapist" is good enough in that case.

Now, maybe someone somewhere in these posts has doubted the women. I didn't and I don't. What I do want to see is convincing and verifiable evidence in context. The evidence so far is helpful in advancing the claim, but not really in context.

[sarisataka]

44. It is (redacted)

And we were calling him a rapist long before the adjudication. If we don’t like the person, it seems the court of public opinion is plenty due process.

I have seen many posts questioning the woman’s accusations.
Why did she wait? How much was she paid? Accusations she’s working with AIPAC. Accusations she’s working with Republicans.

Worst of all, I have seen people saying even if the accusations are proven to be true, we should support him anyway because Republicans would do that.

[-misanthroptimist]

46. Doubting motive is not the same doubting allegations

For instance, none of these imply the allegations aren't true:

Why did she wait? How much was she paid? Accusations she’s working with AIPAC. Accusations she’s working with Republicans.

All of those could have nefarious answers even ifthe rape allegation is true. No?

[sarisataka]

47. In my mind, no

All such questions are directly towards the credibility of the accuser and indirectly denying her accusations

[EdmondDantes_]

57. That was a civil trial with a much lower standard

Definitely not a criminal conviction. But keep on making excuses.

[-misanthroptimist]

61. He's been adjudicated a rapist.

And he's President of the United States. What does that tell you about voters?

Let Platner be sued, then. If he loses, I'll call him an adjudicated rapist, too. If he wins...well, I guess it'll just disappear for most people.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

110. This may shock you

Nobody cares what you call him.

[-misanthroptimist]

113. Nonsense.

I'm the most important person in the universe. If I wasn't in the universe, there's no way I could even prove it exists. (Okay, weirdly, that second sentence is true. The first is just a goof.)

It may surprise you to learn that in a discussion...people say things. No way around it.

[onenote]

54. So should we have laid off Kavanaugh

After all he was just an accused rapist.

[-misanthroptimist]

59. He was (is) also a drunk

But most of all, he was a lousy judge. That should have disqualified him.

[onenote]

60. Sure it should have

But does that mean the allegations against him of sexual assault should have been ignored since they were just accusations about something from years earlier. A number m of the things I’ve seen here today questioning Platner’s accuser — such the assertion that her accusation should be discounted because she waited so long to come forward— sound a lot like the statements made to discredit Kavanaugh’s accuser.

[-misanthroptimist]

65. If conclusions were cliffs, you'd be plunging

I certainly never said ignore any SA allegations. In fact, I've said the opposite. I've said every one of them should be investigated.

As for what others have said, I don't believe I'm answerable for their statements or attitudes.

While it is curious that the accuser waited until now to come out with the rape allegation, that means nothing on its own. People are certainly free to look into that since the allegation could have been lodged when he announced rather than after he was nominated.

But that has absolutely nothing to do with allegation itself or its veracity. Those are separate issues.

[chowder66]

38. My seven year old self went through hell for defenders like you.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

111. I'm so sorry

[chowder66]

115. I'm okay, just angry about some of the crap I'm seeing on here.

Children have an extremely hard time because they don't even have the concept in their brains of what is happening until later or if they may block, push it down, etc. Women can go through the a similar response but typically find a way to blame themselves (as do some children) or try to push it out of their mind to cope with what happened...but it percolates underneath. Shame shouldn't even be part of the dialogue for victims but it is in many instances.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

29. The vast, vast majority of rapists are never convicted.

[Lifeafter70]

26. Wow

This is why women stay silent.

[Initech]

25. Rupert Murdoch wins again.

[obamanut2012]

77. Why? Because Platner is a rapist?

[pinkstarburst]

30. Or how about we go with

whoever the DNC thinks has the closest chance of winning, and that they can vet within an inch of their life over the next week?

I have disliked this guy from the start, and he only gets worse every time he opens his mouth.

[LisaL]

33. We can't go with anyone else unless he withdraws.

Those are the rules, since he got the nomination. He has a week to do it.

[Wiz Imp]

34. I thought most everyone here hated the DNC

After all, they are always complaining about the DNC screwing up, not doing the right thing, supporting the wrong candidates, etc.

I'm not a DNC hater , yet even I think it would be a terrible idea to let the DNC pick a nominee to replace Platner.

[FoxNewsSucks]

53. Couldn't agree more.

No more DNC, DNCC, third-way whatever.

[2naSalit]

81. They won't...

It will be the state party. I suspect they will go with the second choice in the ranked choice process since that's kind of what it's for, even at this stage.

[FoxNewsSucks]

51. Yeah, another "moderate" "corporate-friendly" dem.

Just what we need, even if they can run Collins out of office.

Mainers voted for, and the whole country needs, a PROGRESSIVE. And a FIGHTER.

[mcar]

37. Typical. Still thinks he's in charge

"Yes, I've been credibly accused of rape, but you have to do what I say or I won't step down."

[2naSalit]

40. He has no choice!

The national and State parties have already told him to go.

Fuck him, he needs to go and now.

[Shrek]

64. Of course he has a choice

The primary is over and he won it. No one can make him drop out.

[obamanut2012]

78. The DSA just came out and told him to drop

[WinningAgain]

43. Those excusing the actions of a possible rapist is amazing to me.

Do any of you defenders have daughters?

[obamanut2012]

79. So many on here, it's horrifying

[Raftergirl]

45. True colors shining through, unless you are blind.

[dave99]

48. wonder how many actual Maine Voters are on this item ?

probably 0

[ColoringFool]

87. I wonder how many have had frontal lobotomies to please others here.

[WinningAgain]

49. At least one.

[Music Man]

52. Well, forcing himself when people say "no" seems to be the norm for him.

[TVguyCards]

55. Good.

Someone above said that it's good he's leaving this up to the people of Maine. I do agree with that statement.
I also think he should be replaced by someone who has the views and policies that he has. That's what made him so popular and people want that bad. Getting away from that and replacing him with someone who's a moderate would not go well and I can't see how it would.

[moonshinegnomie]

56. lie

tel him they will replace him with xxx... he withdraws..... replace hime with whoever they want

[Nanjeanne]

58. I agree with him. His supporters believe in his policies that he wanted to fight for. If his replacement

Is not someone with that kind of a policy agenda there will be no chance to win that seat. With that — his supporters will be willing to work to get a Democrat elected and that is what we all want. Nominating a safe candidate with an incremental agenda and not recognized as a fighter is dooming any chance and will only give the consultants and pundits a chance to blow it,

[Janbdwl72]

70. So does this mean those who so enthusiastically supported Platner are going to now support Collins?

That makes no sense whatsoever. It's not like there's never been a political race anywhere in which a state's voters had to choose "the lesser of the evils." By the way, I am not a Maine resident--but I do want to see the Democrats win this seat.

If he does withdraw, then Governor Mills will get it. Will some of Platner's supporters just stay home?

Now, regardless of what Platner decides to do in this situation, as many have already indicated, this does show a definite double standard. The Felon and Ken Paxton--just to name two quickly--had as much baggage, but still won? Is it right for voters in Maine to hold Platner to a higher standard than they did the Felon and that Texas voters have done for Paxton the times he has been elected AG and in this spring's Republican primary?

[LisaL]

72. No, if he withdraws,

it doesn't mean that governor Mills will get the nomination. Party will have to nominate, and they don't have to stick with those who were on the ballot.

[Nanjeanne]

85. Probably not. But depending who the Dem is they might sit home. Kind of like many do when they aren't

excited about either candidate and feel like their lives might not change.

[SSJVegeta]

62. Agreed. Maine should decide.

Not Platner or anybody else.

[ColoringFool]

88. I think, in your zeal to silence some of us with brains, you...

forgot that PLATNER MOST CERTAINLY IS "ALLOWED" TO DECIDE---BY STEPPING AWAY.

HE'S FROM MAINE, YOU SEE.

[ForeGoneLegsBirne]

63. Why does the Democratic Party DO THIS? Paxton CAN'T lose, but MILLS was the HARD SELL???

[sarisataka]

66. What if the Democratic party refuses to negotiate?

Will he stay in to spoil the race?

[LisaL]

71. We will find out soon enough.

He has about a week to drop out.

[Shrek]

107. He can get paid at 49-1 if he stays in

Prediction markets say 98% chance he withdraws.

[patphil]

74. OK, I've had my 4 or so hours of dispair, and am ready to stand up again and continue the good fight.

As the saying goes, it's not the falling down that defines you, it's the getting back up.
So, I'm counting on Graham Platner and the people of Maine to figure this thing out, and bring forth a candidate that will take his place and work hard to win the Senate race in Maine.
But, please, let go of the garbage talk that's going on here.
Our nation's future is at stake. We need to stand together or lose it all.
For God's sake, Sue Collins stands behind an adjudicated rapist! If Platner isn't worthy of a Senate seat, then how can she be?

At this point, unless we live in Maine and have a say in it, we can only hope for the best.
These truly are the times that try our souls.

[calimary]

80. VERY important reminder!

“…it's not the falling down that defines you, it's the getting back up.”

Thanks, patphil. That’s THE bottom line. Always.

[Peppertoo]

82. Pound sand Graham

[flvegan]

83. "true to the values" So, like, MORE rape accusations?

Would it be enough to through a couple of sieg heils if they just couldn't commit to the whole nazi tattoo thing, or does it have to be permanent ink? Should their shitty Reddit posts be worse in scope or in number? Should the sexual misconduct be more egregious in scope or in number?

Good luck to you Maine, I'll know you'll make the right call.

[ColoringFool]

86. 😄😄😄😄😄😄😂 Somebody should tell him.

[betsuni]

92. I thought anointing was bad.

[somethingshiny]

93. Under Republican "leadership"

America is dying. Drowning. Our only hope of survival is regaining control of Congress.
If my loved one is in the middle of the ocean, going down for the third time, I don't care if the man who can toss a life preserver is a convicted felon. These are desperate times.

[milestogo]

95. What an arrogant jerk.💩

[Raftergirl]

100. The more I think about this creep (and I'm trying hard not to) I think he is also bully and a conman.

Very Trumpian.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

114. Agree.

[Walleye]

101. Is he insisting on being replaced by another sex pest?

Why didn’t we nominate Janet Mills?

[GPV]

104. Because many of us wanted someone more progressive than she is.

[Walleye]

122. Well, at least she has a clean record? I don't know I haven't followed it, but I just think when the country is i

That steak, like it is on the majority of the senate we should vet our candidates.

[Emile]

102. You can bet the centrists will whine about that!

[themaguffin]

103. That doesn't help him. Jesus

what an asshole.

[sop]

105. Remember the last time a candidate was forced to drop out because the media-created firestorm stampeded

members of his own party to demand he immediately step aside? Then the replacement selected by the party establishment was soundly defeated by a convicted felon? And everyone spent the next 18 months pointing fingers and debating whether the decision was a mistake? We'll be able to do it all over again when Platner's replacement loses to Collins in November.

[Raftergirl]

106. You think he is going to win if he stays on the ballot? 🤣

[sop]

109. I honestly don't know.

Maybe his support in Maine is strong enough to see him through this most recent revelation. He's already survived a lot of other negative stuff that would kill most candidacies, and come out even stronger for it.

A lot can happen in five months. However, I do believe a replacement candidate will lose if enough of Platner's supporters believe he was forced out, and they feel ignored.

[obamanut2012]

118. Why in the heck would you want him to run and win?!

[sop]

120. Control of the Senate. Period.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

119. Then I guess all of their previous cries

"We HAVE to win the Senate, no matter what!!!11!!!!!" were really just bullshit cover for a very bad man.

[obamanut2012]

116. I know what we did here in CA, we did the right thing

Even Swalwell did one rght thing for dropping asap.

Also, how is rape a media-created firestorm? Why in the hell should anyone knowingly vote for a rapist?

[sop]

121. Accused rapist, Platner denies he sexually abused his accuser. And the Politico story has set off a media firestorm,

not unlike "the Biden is too old" media-created firestorm following the presidential debate in 2024.

Eric Swalwell apologized for his "past mistakes in judgement," then withdrew. Everyone knew the California governorship would not be won by a Republican. There were other qualified Democrats running when Swalwell dropped out, so he wasn't necessary.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

108. That is up to the party.

Planter has to withdraw by July 13 and the party has until July 27 to pick the nominee. Planter should NOT be able to dictate the choice of the party

[Iggo]

112. Okay. Sure. We promise.

[senseandsensibility]

117. Lol

They should try that one.