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PLATNER VOLUNTEERS WANT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH A NEW CANDIDATE  
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Nathan Bernard
July 7, 2026
Drop Site News
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_ The populist movement propelling Graham Platner’s senatorial
campaign sees a replacement in former state senator Troy Jackson. The
energy behind this politics of change is genuinely real and organic.
Wednesday evening, Platner suspended his campaign _

Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson enters race for Senate,
Photo: Maine Morning Star

 

Since announcing his run almost a year ago, Graham Platner’s source
of strength was his ability to organize people passionately committed
to building a populist movement centered on the needs of working
people. The energy behind this politics of change is genuinely real
and organic. Thousands of people have volunteered their time to
Platner’s cause across every county in Maine.

But after allegations of rape
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against Platner broke on July 6, many of those volunteer workers no
longer believe he is the right standard bearer for the movement
they’ve been working so hard to build. The victim, Jenny Racicot,
told _Politico_ that Platner broke into her home in 2021 while drunk
and began forcing himself on her. Racicot said she tried to separate
herself from Platner but that he followed her to her bedroom and raped
her.

[_Update: Wednesday evening, July 8, Platner announced he had
suspended his campaign for Senate in Maine._]

_Drop Site_ spoke with numerous Platner volunteers to determine where
Maine’s rapidly growing populist base might be headed.
Overwhelmingly, supporters are ready to move on from Platner while
remaining emboldened to continue their work building the grassroots
movement that he jump-started.

Volunteers on Platner’s statewide organizing Discord server, with
nearly 1,400 members, called
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for him to withdraw from the race Monday after the allegations were
reported. The volunteer Discord server is dedicated to the door
knockers, canvassers, digital organizers, and tablers who’ve been
propelling his campaign.

“I don’t necessarily want Graham to win. I want our political
ideas to win. He is not coming back from this and we should find
someone to carry on the ideals now,” Dante Cusolito, a Platner
volunteer and recent college graduate from York county, told _Drop
Site_. “People can be flawed and become better, but hanging your
movement on the coattails of somebody credibly accused of sexual
assault is the exact thing we are trying to be better than.”

The initial volunteer-powered response for a progressive replacement
for Platner has centered on former state senator Troy Jackson, a
Bernie Sanders-backed logger from northern Maine who was endorsed by
the Maine DSA. Jackson served as president of the Maine Senate from
2018–2024 and recently ran for governor in the state’s Democratic
primary, finishing a close third.

An online petition is now circulating to “Draft Troy for Senate
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and has been endorsed by the Jackson team in their own Discord server.

Troy Jackson campaign spokeswoman Christine Kirby told _Drop Site_
that since the _Politico_ story dropped they have been flooded with
calls, texts, and emails asking Jackson to step in.

“He is clearly the strongest option to replace Graham Platner and
take on Susan Collins in the general election,” Kirby told _Drop
Site_. “This movement is greater than any one person, it’s about a
coalition of Maine people fighting for a future that doesn’t have to
belong only to the wealthy and powerful. And Troy is up for the
fight.”

Jackson filed paperwork
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Tuesday with the Federal Elections Commission to form a U.S. Senate
exploratory committee. He is the first Democrat to do so. A recent
poll
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of 405 likely voters found Jackson with a 5-point lead over Collins.

The process for selecting a new nominee is still being decided. As of
Tuesday morning, the Maine Democratic Party has said it will not be
choosing the replacement by committee. Sources close to the situation
have said a state convention in which delegates elect a new candidate
is under serious consideration. In order to begin the replacement
process, Platner would need to withdraw by July 13.

The Maine Democratic Party released a joint statement
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calling on Platner to withdraw. “This Senate race comes at a pivotal
moment in the struggle against a government, supported by Senator
Collins, that serves the interests of the wealthy and powerful at the
expense of ordinary Maine people. It is essential that we refocus this
campaign on that struggle,” the statement said.

Corey Butler, a mid-thirties volunteer and part-time media staffer
from the Platner Discord told _Drop Site_ the new allegations were
“pretty much a red line for everyone involved.” He has been
working with the campaign at almost every event and town hall since
its beginning. If Platner does drop out, he would “really like to
see Troy Jackson get the nod” as replacement.

Patrick Reis, 29, a volunteer from Portland, described himself to
_Drop Site_ as a “hardcore Platner supporter” who has been working
with the campaign since the first town hall. Reis said he believes the
allegations against Platner, noting the “woman in question hasn’t
been a far-right operative for over a decade and had corroborating
evidence,” differentiating these claims from the previous reporting
in the _New York Times_.

Reis said Platner “has to drop out immediately,” adding that his
“personal pick” for a replacement would also be Troy Jackson,
“as he is very similar politically to Platner, which has shown to be
very popular.” Regardless of the nominee, he will “absolutely”
continue volunteering.

“Platner often said he was building a movement to outlast him or
carry on in his absence. I bet he thought that time would come years
from now, but it’s upon us,” Reis said. “I hope and pray it is
another progressive, but if it isn’t we should still rally behind
them and use our power base to push for progressive policies wherever
we can.”

Kamran Darnall-Hirani, a 19-year-old volunteer, told _Drop Site_ the
campaign was never about a “cult of Graham,” and has always been
about building a populist movement focused on the needs of everyday
people. They believe any replacement must be “another working class
candidate who comes out of the movement,” and would
“wholeheartedly” throw their support behind Troy Jackson.

“This has been about working Mainers rejecting a politics that
doesn’t serve them,” Darnall-Hirani added.

In county-level Platner Signal groups, volunteers driving the door
knocking, canvassing, and tabling efforts in their respective regions
repeatedly expressed how they were “struggling” and “incredibly
upset.” Multiple volunteers said the story was “painful” to
read. One volunteer leader noted that no volunteer “staff members
had been involved in conversations nor did anyone receive advanced
notice” about the story before it broke.

“Whatever happens, I would like to keep our group chat alive. The
name may change, but that won’t change that we have all become
advocates for ourselves and our communities,” Kyla Mihalovits, a
late-thirties female field organizer who leads a Platner Central Maine
County volunteer cohort for the campaign, told her Signal chat of
nearly 50 active volunteers.

“I’m here for it. Absolutely not giving up on the progressive
project, and the community that has come together over it,” Allison
Anger, a female volunteer in Kennebec County replied.

Anger told _Drop Site_ she has been involved in Platner’s campaign
for the policies, not the candidate. She considers it a tragedy that
electoral politics require that we marry our policy demands to a
single human being.

“The important thing is we are all still here. What we are demanding
of our government has not and will not change. We just have to persist
and fight for policies we support, regardless of what person we elect
to carry out or will in office,” Anger added.

“For the moment, group leaders and volunteers are focusing on being
there for each other and keeping our contacts and the friends we’ve
made supporting this campaign together. We’re focused on advancing
progressive policy,” Mihalovits said. “This was never about a
single candidate, but about all of us working together for a better
vision than Susan Collins ever offered Maine.”

Morgan, a male volunteer in the Central Maine Signal group, told _Drop
Site _that compelling sexual assault allegations must always be a red
line, regardless of how they surface and from whom. He has been with
the campaign “since day one,” canvassing, phonebanking, and
volunteering at town halls.

He said Platner “needs to do the right thing and step down, and
actively encourage his volunteers to channel their incredible energy
and organization into the next leader who will carry our platform
forward.”

“This campaign represents an unprecedented investment of my time and
energy. I didn’t do it for a single candidate,” Morgan said. “I
believe our policy platform is bigger than Graham Platner. It is a
vision that transcends any one man, and I have faith that we can
nominate a leader who will carry that vision forward, and wield the
power that comes with it.”

_[NATHAN BERNARD is a freelance reporter living in Central Maine. His
reporting has been featured in The Intercept, Rolling Stone,
Huffington Post, Maine Beacon, The Bollard (Formerly Mainer News
Cooperative) and WERU.]_

* Graham Platner
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* Accusations of sexual assault
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* Troy Jackson
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* Maine
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* Elections 2026
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* 2026 Midterms
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* Susan Collins
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* Democratic Party
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* populist movements
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* Rape
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* alcoholism
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