Maine Democrats recycle Platner's far-left talking points in scramble to replace disgraced ex-nominee

A group of eight Senate contenders running to replace Graham Platner as Maine's Democratic Senate nominee sought to showcase how they align with the disgraced ex-candidate's policy agenda on Thursday night ahead of an upcoming nominating convention in the state.

"Graham actually said he voted for me a few years ago," said David Costello, who ran unsuccessfully for the nomination earlier this year and lost to Platner, in response to a question about whether he would carry on any of the policies Platner put forward during his campaign. "How's that?"

The answers from the eight participating Democrats showed an effort to capture some of Platner’s momentum and messaging — even as they sought to stake out their own candidacies amid a scramble to find another party nominee.

There are 13 running in total, and whichever Democrat is crowned at a Maine Democratic Party convention on July 25, will face off in the midterm elections against longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins in a high-stakes race that is among roughly a dozen that will determine if Republicans hold their slim Senate majority. Thirteen Democrats filed with the state party by Wednesday to get on the ballot.

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Jordan Wood, a former congressional chief of staff to Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., said Thursday night that Platner’s perspective on the war in Gaza had been particularly transformative.

"When I got into this race, I was very hesitant to use the word genocide. To me, when you make that commitment, you have to be ready to go all the way, for the need to put conditions on any future aid to Israel. Graham got into this race, saying, 'this is genocide,'" Wood said.

"And I learned that, that it is so important in these moments to draw those moral lines. Voters are looking at you to see what is going on in Gaza, the genocide that Israel is committing, and the need to speak to that. And it's going to be difficult. But it is one thing that I took from Graham that I embraced that position now. But I learned it from him."

Troy Jackson, a former logger and former progressive member of the Maine House of Representatives, pivoted to Graham’s stance on healthcare, arguing it would continue to resonate with voters.

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"That's the thing that I think Graham did the best: talked about fighting against the health care industry and the prescription drug industry to make sure that people in this state and this country have affordable, quality health care," Jackson said.

Nirav Shah, a professor and former candidate for governor, highlighted a shared view of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "There are a lot of areas where Graham's policies and mine overlap. One that I think is particularly relevant this week is the need to finally abolish ICE," Shah said.

"For anyone who's on the fence about that, let me ask a simple question," he added. "How many more people must die at the hands of Donald Trump's masked marauders before we finally agree that now is the time to abolish ICE?"

Then, Shenna Bellows, Maine’s current secretary of state, said she shared Platner’s view of corruption in government.

"The democracy that we thought we had has been deeply corrupted by those in power in Washington," Bellows said.

"He energized a movement that's always been there," she continued. "We don't have to choose. It's about Medicare for all. It's about getting ice out of Maine. It's about seeing the harm of October 7th and seeing the harm that what Netanyahu is doing in Gaza is genocide, and that we can hold both of those ideas and we can speak the truth, not try to figure out which talking points will win."

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In the debate’s second group of candidates, Elizabeth Dickerson, a former Maine state lawmaker, argued that Platner’s appeal was less about introducing new ideas than energizing voters around long-running progressive priorities.

"I think that it isn’t so much about the ideas that he had because he was talking about things that people have been talking about for a long time," Dickerson said. "He really didn’t bring up a whole lot that was new. But I think that what happened is that he had a way of getting people excited about doing those things and about voting to support those things."

Dickerson added that she thinks Democrats should try to keep those voters engaged despite Platner’s exit from the race. "Sometimes you don’t get the win you think you’re going to get, but that doesn’t mean you give up," she said. "We still have to fight."

Costello, meanwhile, said Platner had backed him when he ran as a "change candidate" in 2024 and said the central lesson from Platner’s campaign was the need to "change the system fundamentally."

"The most important thing is we’ve got to take money out of politics," Costello said. "Money corrupts everything."

Costello told the moderators he supported comprehensive campaign finance reform, public financing, reduced media rates for qualifying candidates, banning gerrymandering, eliminating the filibuster and imposing term limits for Congress and the federal judiciary.

"That’s what I liked about what Graham was talking about as well, is the energy behind reform, transformation, transforming our government," Costello said. "But the most important thing … go after the money."

Ashley Webb, a transgender activist, went viral during the second debate when pressed on Senate qualifications: "I ran for office several times. Didn’t win, but did run. And then, I’m a songwriter, and then I write my own books."

In response to the debate Thursday night, the Maine Republican Party said Democrats in the state were "stained with the effects of Graham Platner's disastrous campaign."

"It will follow them throughout this race. These candidates are cherry-picked replacements of the nazi-tattooed communist, and it's evident by the nature of their nomination process," Maine GOP Communications Director Kristina Parker told Fox News Digital.

Facing a July 27 deadline to replace Platner with a new nominee, the state Democratic Party announced that it will hold a nominating convention two days earlier, on July 25 in Bangor, Maine, where 601 voting delegates will pick the nominee.

Once having cleared that hurdle, Platner’s replacement will head to a general election against Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, on Nov. 3.