美国缅因州进步派候选人格雷厄姆·普拉特纳（Graham Platner）日前宣布退出该州联邦参议院竞选，此举源于其前伴侣提出的性侵犯指控 [2]。尽管普拉特纳在相关视频中否认了这些指控，但他随后批评民主党建制派和主流媒体充当了“法官、陪审团和执行者”的角色 [1][3]。针对这一突发状况，缅因州民主党已确认将启动提名程序，计划召开大会以选出新的参议员候选人 [2]。
多位潜在竞争者已表示有意角逐该席位或正式提交竞选文件 [1]。其中，特洛伊·杰克逊（Troy Jackson）和丹·克莱班（Dan Kleban）已经宣布参加竞选 [3][1]。此外，尼拉夫·沙阿（Nirav Shah）、乔丹·伍德（Jordan Wood）、佩奇·劳德（Paige Loud），以及可能参选的舍娜·贝洛乌斯（Shenna Bellows）、纳瓦布·盖格（Valli Geiger）等人也加入了角逐行列 [3][1]。
目前，所有潜在候选人的提名截止日期为 7 月 27 日 [1][2][3]。缅因州民主党党部此前曾发出警告，若普拉特纳未在 7 月 13 日前退选，该党将无法再提名其他候选人以填补空缺 [2]。与此同时，包括伯尼·桑德斯在内的多位盟友已撤回对普拉特纳的支持，且美国民主党全国委员会也已停止对其竞选的资助 [2]。现任联邦参议员苏珊·柯林斯（Susan Collins）为共和党籍人士 [3]。
Graham Platner has withdrawn from the race for U.S. Senate in Maine following accusations of sexual assault [1][2]. In a video statement, Platner denied the allegations and criticized Democratic Party establishment figures as acting like "judge, jury and executioner" [1]. He stated that his withdrawal was not an admission of guilt but intended to preserve democratic processes within the party [2]. The Maine Democratic Party confirmed it will hold a nominating convention to select a new candidate for the seat currently held by Republican Susan Collins [3].
The National Democratic Committee has ceased funding Platner's campaign, and allies such as Bernie Sanders have withdrawn their support . A deadline of July 13 was set by the Maine state party; failure to withdraw by this date would prevent them from nominating another candidate for the November midterm election . The official statutory deadline for potential contenders to submit names is July 27 .
Several individuals have already announced their candidacy or expressed interest in running. Troy Jackson has formally launched his campaign and received support from Our Revolution . Dan Kleban, Nirav Shah, Jordan Wood, Paige Loud, Shenna Bellows, Valli Geiger, and others are also among the potential contenders who have confirmed they will run or filed to do so [1][3].