Maine Beer Company co-founder Dan Kleban said Wednesday that he’s all in to replace scandal-plagued Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner, who has yet to drop out of the race.
In a Substack post, Mr. Kleban said that he has been “overwhelmed” by calls encouraging him to consider jumping back into the race.
“Over the next two weeks, we need an open, transparent process to select our nominee,” he wrote. “I’m ready to fight for Mainers and bring a new generation of leadership to Washington. I believe I can unite our party and finally defeat Susan Collins in November.”
Mr. Kleban ran a short-lived Senate campaign before dropping out to endorse Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who later suspended her campaign.
Mr. Platner is facing a domino effect of endorsement withdrawals and calls to exit after a sexual assault allegation roiled his race — one that Democrats saw as central to retaking control of the Senate, with Republican Sen. Susan Collins considered one of the more vulnerable GOP incumbents this cycle.
Under Maine election law, Mr. Platner has until a July 13 deadline to withdraw from the race for the party to replace him on the ballot. The Maine Democratic Party has until July 27 to find a replacement, even though the primary has passed.
Platner campaign staff was told that Mr. Platner would speak about the future of his run Wednesday night, The Washington Post reported.
However, “No process to elect a new nominee can commence unless the Platner campaign is suspended,” Democratic Party officials said.
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