Democratic candidates competing to replace disgraced Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner embraced key elements of his progressive platform during a debate on Thursday, including calls to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, support for Medicare for All, economic populism, and criticism of Israel. The debate demonstrated that Platner’s withdrawal following a rape allegation he denies has not prompted a corresponding break from the agenda that propelled him to a landslide primary victory in early June.
With just eight days remaining to select a replacement to challenge Republican Senator Susan Collins, all candidates on the debate stage called for eliminating ICE. The discussion came three days after a fatal shooting in Biddeford, Maine, where a 25-year-old father was killed during an ICE enforcement action. 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 killed was not the target of the enforcement action, according to information provided to Maine lawmakers.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, said: “Nobody deserves to get shot and killed in the streets when their three-year-old daughter is still in her pajamas.” Nirav 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, said: “I am beyond furious about the murder that happened in our streets.” Shah 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 who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, 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 said “it should absolutely be abolished.”
The shooting in Biddeford, 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. “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” were also common themes on the debate stage, as was criticism of Israel and the foreign aid the country receives. Candidates were asked point-blank what ideas from Platner they intend to campaign on. Jackson responded: “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. 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.” Shah said there are “a lot of areas where Graham’s policies and mine overlap,” pointing to ICE as the main area of agreement. Wood highlighted “human rights work” and the need for “Palestinian statehood.” Bellows said: “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 backed last September by progressive champion Senator 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. However, even as he crushed the competition to capture the nomination, Platner had already been forced on defense amid a slew of scandals. He 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.
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 withdrew. The convention will determine who will face Senator Collins in the general election, as Democrats seek to unify Platner’s supporters behind a candidate who can carry forward his progressive energy while avoiding further controversy.