by David Shephard, ©2026
(Jul. 8, 2026) — [Editor’s Note: The following column was published at the author’s website prior to Graham Platner’s announcement he would suspend his campaign.]
Last month in Maine there was a Democratic Senate primary election, and the socialist Democrat Graham Platner won fair and square; indeed, he won big with 72 percent of the vote. But now, looking at the polls, the party leaders want to overturn that election and handpick a new candidate. In effect, they want (to borrow a term used in golf for a courtesy do-over), a mulligan.
The situation in Maine with Graham Platner reminds me of the New Jersey Senate race in 2002. The Democratic nominee was incumbent Bob Torricelli, who was ethically challenged ,to say the least. He won the nomination, but as the campaign went on, more and more dirt about him came out. Democrats wanted to ditch him, but it was way too late by law. Still, they gave it a try, and fortunately for them the New Jersey State Supreme Court, who has about as much respect for the law as they do, said yes, and so in late September of that year they handpicked someone else.
But what makes this latest Democratic switch in Maine so outrageous is that they were warned about Platner before the primary election, which took place back on June 9th. They knew about accusations of his abuse of women; they also knew about his misogynistic posts on social media, including a post in 2013 where he blames sexual assault victims for their own victimization. And they knew about his Nazi tattoo. They also knew that there were rumors of other women who were likely to come forward at some point with more stories of Platner’s abuse, yet they nominated him anyway.
They could have nominated someone else, but they didn’t, and now win or lose, they should accept the consequences of their primary. Democrats like to claim that democracy is under threat; well, if that is true then they should not seek to overturn a primary.
Why is there now this push to ditch Platner? Well, the cover story coming from Democrats is that the last allegation, this time of rape, crossed a red line, so now they have decided to withdraw support and demand that he drop out. This is false. The real reason for the move is that the polls are now showing a clear move away from him and movement towards the Republican Senator, Susan Collins.
Democrats did the same thing in the 2024 Presidential election; Joe Biden ran in the primaries and won, but in June the Democratic leadership looked at the polls and decided to get another nominee. They decided to ignore the voters and pick someone else.
Well, like the Biden case in 2024 and the New Jersey Senate race in 2002, Democrats now need to get Platner to voluntarily drop out of the race. Under state law, if he withdraws by July 13th, then the party can pick another nominee by July 22.
The purpose for the law which allows the party to get another nominee is based on the scenario that the person picked by the voters might die or become incapacitated before the general election and that voters then should be able to get another choice. But Graham Platner is not incapacitated; he is very much alive. Democrats are willing to abuse this law based on a political calculation.
If Democrats want to go back to the days of the so-called smoke-filled room where party leaders picked the nominees, fine, but they should drop the claim that democracy is at risk.
David Shephard is a native and very proud Virginian. Raised in Fairfax County, David graduated from George Mason University and majored in Government and Politics. He spent decades in politics, campaign consulting, raising money and lobbying. He is also a longtime conservative blogger writing for numerous blogs. He is also the host of “The Virginia Gentleman Podcast.”
David is the author of Elections Have Consequences, A Cautionary Tale, and his latest book, Norton’s Choice: An Inside Politics Exposé.