Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jul 9

Dr. Nirav Shah Enters Maine Senate Race as Democrats Replace 150,000-Vote Nominee

Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Jul 9

Dr. Nirav Shah Enters Maine Senate Race as Democrats Replace 150,000-Vote Nominee

Q: Why is the withdrawn Senate candidate refusing to officially leave the ballot?

He is holding off on formally withdrawing because he says he wants guarantees that the process to replace him will be open, transparent and democratic. Platner has said he will submit the paperwork only once he is assured the replacement nominee is chosen in a way that reflects the will of the more than 150,000 voters who backed him in the primary and the volunteers who built his campaign. In public remarks, he objected to decisions being made “in back rooms” or driven by national power centers rather than Maine Democrats. That stance appears tied to his broader argument that his campaign represented a political movement that should not simply be overridden after his suspension. He has denied the rape allegation against him and has framed his exit as the result of losing institutional support and campaign infrastructure, not as an admission of wrongdoing. His delay has also created tension with the Maine Democratic Party. Party officials say his team has tried to influence the replacement process, an accusation his allies dispute. The party says it is moving toward a nominating convention and that Platner’s team has no formal role in choosing the next nominee. Under Maine law, Platner must file a signed withdrawal request by July 13 for a replacement candidate to be placed on the ballot. As of Thursday morning, that filing had not yet been made.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 9

Dr. Nirav Shah, who led Maine’s Covid response and finished second in the gubernatorial primary, officially joined the Democratic contest Thursday morning after Graham Platner suspended his Senate campaign.
Platner had won the nomination in June with more than 150,000 Democratic primary votes, but the party was forced into a rapid replacement search after a rape allegation he denies.
July 13 is Platner’s deadline to submit a signed request to come off the ballot; as of Thursday morning, Maine’s secretary of state office had not received one.
July 27 is the state-law deadline for Democrats to name a replacement, likely through a still-unsettled nominating convention that could let hundreds of party members vote.
The new nominee will face Republican Senator Susan Collins in a race Democrats view as important to their bid to retake the Senate in November.