A bubbling effort by a small group of Graham Platner’s supporters in Maine to write the former Senate candidate’s name on the ballot in November has begun to attract online attention, as Cheyenne Hunt, the Democratic operative who crusaded against Platner, has publicly denounced the possibility.
“Platner supporters are posting in a private Facebook group, reporting back on their conversations with him. Allegedly, Platner himself has ‘endorsed’ the write-in strategy laid out here,” Hunt wrote. “This final act of hubris and selfishness would only help Collins win in November.”
Collins is of course Sen. Susan Collins, who Democratic nominee Troy Jackson will face in November. Jackson replaced Platner on the ballot after Platner dropped out in July following a rape allegation that was brought to Politico and CNN by Hunt.
One of the organizers of the campaign to write in Platner’s name, Scott Niemi, published an oped about it in the Bangor Daily News; a Portland Press-Herald columnist has denounced the effort; and a New York Post reporter has reached out to the people involved. The latter paper is likely looking to create a news cycle or two out of the nascent conversations.
But the portrait painted by Hunt doesn’t match reality. Because of Maine election law, a write-in effort would not hurt Jackson, who replaced Platner on the ballot, but would redound to his benefit.
Under Maine ranked-choice-voting law, if there are only two candidates on the ballot, a write-in vote is simply discarded, and the voter has no option for a second choice. The only exception, however, is when an additional candidate files as a write-in contender. Platner has not filed to run as a write-in, but several other people in Maine have. That means if somebody writes in Platner’s name, it won’t officially count, but their second choice—if neither Susan Collins nor Jackson reach 50% on the first ballot—is then added to the tally.
Platner told a group of supporters who met with him about running as a write-in that he would not be filing to do so, and did not want people to write in his name, but if they insist on doing so, they should rank Jackson second so their votes count. That’s the account the group relayed on Facebook.
“What’s true is people came to my house to convince me to file as a write-in,” Platner told former Maine state Rep. Andy O’Brien. “I told them I wouldn’t be doing that, but if they insist on writing me in, they need to rank Troy #2.” Platner confirmed to Drop Site that he spoke to O’Brien and confirmed the substance of the conversation, declining to offer a formal statement so as not to encourage a media frenzy.
If the write-in effort garners no traction—and there is no evidence it has so far, with only 89 verified signatures on their online petition—then functionally, it can’t possibly harm Jackson. If it does gain steam, then its momentum would drive voters to the polls who were ardent supporters of Platner, but less excited by Jackson. Once in the voting booth—or filling out their mail ballot—they’d be more likely then to cast a second ballot for Jackson, giving Jackson the ability to win over voters disaffected by the way the process of Platner’s ouster played out.
Platner and Jackson have broadly similar policy platforms, but their campaign styles differ. During his campaign, Platner held 83 town halls and innumerable small events across the state, routinely talking to overflowing rooms and theaters. Jackson has not yet embraced that approach, holding fewer than 10 campaign gatherings since being crowned the nominee. These events included “office opening” events with the Maine Democratic Party and private donor sponsored house parties, most recently held in Brunswick and Belfast.
Jackson’s slow organizing start can be partly attributed to catching Covid soon after winning the Democratic nomination on July 25, which he addressed at an August 19 supporter meet and greet in Portland.
“We launched this campaign pretty fast, we didn’t see this coming. A week into it, boom, I got Covid, which knocked me on my ass for a while,” Jackson said in his Portland speech. “But from here until November, you’re going to see a lot of me. I want to make sure people know exactly what I believe in, what I stand for, and how we can make that change. Solidarity isn’t just a word, it’s a lifestyle. There’s more of us in this state, in this country, that deserve a different government than what we have right now.”
The Jackson campaign is launching a Solidarity Forever Tour on September 1. He is slated to hold town halls in five cities over the next month.
Ahead of Jackson’s first town halls, former Platner supporters are rallying around the nominee. On Sunday evening, the nearly 8,000 member private Facebook group run by local Platner supporters voted to throw their network behind Troy Jackson, rebranding as “Platner Supporters for Troy Jackson.”
“We have decided to take the next step in regrouping to focus on the most important thing in front of us, which is letting Susan Collins retire at the end of the year and getting progressive voices in the senate,” group admin Mark Anderson wrote. “We are all in this together. This is an important moment of unity and I look forward to everyone standing together this November and beyond.”
