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Democrats competing to replace disgraced Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner embraced key parts of his progressive platform during Thursday’s debate, including abolishing ICE, Medicare for all, economic populism and criticism of Israel.
The debate showed that Platner’s withdrawal following a rape allegation he denies has not produced a corresponding break from the agenda that powered him to a landslide primary victory. Democrats now have eight days to select a replacement to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
All the candidates vying to replace the now-disgraced Platner called for eliminating ICE during the debate, which was held three days after the fatal shooting of a 25-year-old father in Biddeford, Maine.
“Nobody deserves to get shot and killed in the streets when their three-year-old daughter is still in her pajamas,” said Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
Nirav Shah, who was the runner-up in last month’s gubernatorial caucus, said: “I am beyond furious about the murder that happened in our streets.”
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The Department of Homeland Security said the driver attempted to flee and that an officer fired while fearing for public safety. The shooting is being investigated by Maine’s attorney general, the FBI and the DHS inspector general. The man who was killed was not the target of the enforcement action, according to information provided to Maine lawmakers.
Shah, who directed the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention from 2019 to 2023 and later served as principal deputy director of the federal CDC, pointed to what he called “the president’s goons” and emphasized, “I don’t think this agency can be reformed. The rot has gone to the core and that’s why we must abolish it.”
Troy Jackson, a former Maine Senate president who also ran unsuccessfully for the gubernatorial nomination, said, “I support law enforcement, but ICE is not law enforcement. It’s a rogue agency.”
Jordan Wood, a former congressional staffer for then-Rep. Katie Porter of California, unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination this year in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, a crucial swing seat, also called for abolishing ICE. “We need a new law enforcement agency that has the trust of the people,” he said.
Dan Kleban, a co-founder of the Maine Beer Company who briefly ran for the Democratic Senate nomination before dropping out, said: “ICE needs to be abolished. It is rotten to the core, and it’s irredeemable.”
David Costello, who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2024 and this year, claimed ICE was a “political instrument” of the Trump administration and joined the chorus, saying “it should absolutely be abolished.”
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The shooting in Biddeford, which is located about 15 miles southwest of Portland, was the second fatal ICE shooting in a week, following a traffic stop incident in Houston, Texas.
Four of the Democratic Senate candidates huddled with protesters in Biddeford hours after the incident, and Shah held a news conference the following day outside a Collins field office located just a few blocks from the scene of the shooting.
“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? Now, rather than abolishing it, what Susan Collins has decided to do in recent years is increase the budget,” Shah argued.
Platner’s economic populism and critique of the “oligarchy” was also a common theme on the debate stage, as was criticizing Israel and the foreign aid that the country receives.
The candidates were asked point-blank during the debate what ideas from Platner they intend to campaign on.
“I think that’s pretty clear. I mean, what Graham talked about is something that I’ve been fighting for since I got into politics, healthcare, Medicare for all,” Jackson responded. “I mean, people in this country deserve to have healthcare. We deserve to have people in government that are not giving tax cuts to the ultra wealthy in this country on the backs of health care. This is something I believe strongly in.”
Shah said there are “a lot of areas where Graham’s policies and mine overlap” and pointed to ICE as the main area of agreement.
Wood pointed to “human rights work” and the need for “Palestinian statehood.”
Bellows responded by saying, “The single idea from Graham Platner that spoke most deeply to me is that he’s right, the democracy that we thought we had has been deeply corrupted by those in power in Washington, the billionaires and the massive corporations.”
Platner, a populist Democrat who was backed last September by progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders, won the early June Democratic primary in a landslide. A combat veteran and oyster farmer whose campaign caught fire, Platner steamrolled the Democratic establishment. But even as he crushed the competition to capture the nomination, Platner had already been forced on defense in the wake of a slew of scandals.
Platner dropped out earlier this month, amid calls from top Democrats in Maine and across the country to immediately exit the race following an explosive report containing an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated. Platner denied the claim.
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Facing a July 27 deadline to certify Platner’s replacement, the Maine Democratic Party will hold a July 25 nominating convention in Bangor, where 601 delegates will select the nominee.
Thirteen candidates filed with the state party by Wednesday to seek the nomination, although one quickly dropped out. The candidates still need to collect the signatures of registered Maine Democrats by July 25 to qualify.
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