Thursday, July 9, 2026: Growing list of candidates to replace Platner; ferry service returns to Swan Island in Richmond
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38 segmentsFrom Maine Public Radio and Mainepublic.org, I'm Nicole Ogrisco with the news on this day in Maine, Thursday, July 9th, 2026. Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner's decision yesterday to withdraw from the race marked a stunning turn of events for the political upstart. The oysterman in combat veteran rocketed from political obscurity last year to win more votes than any Democratic Senate candidate in state history. But his fall came even faster, leaving state party leaders with a narrow window to replace him on the ballot. and a slew of questions about whether the new nominee can topple Republican Senator Susan Collins in November. As Steve Misler reports, Democrats in Maine are anxious about what comes next. The final collapse of Graham Platner's campaign unfolded over a two-day period that began with a report that he sexually assaulted a woman he dated five years ago. He immediately denied it, and in the 11-minute video announcing his withdrawal on Wednesday, he claimed the allegations were part of a sinister plot. by the political establishment that he's been challenging since launching his campaign last summer. I just want you to think about like what you would do as a regular person in a position where a much larger world, large forces, were working against you personally to accuse you of the worst thing that a person could do. And it was not remotely true. He questioned the timing of the allegations and the others that preceded it. I only have until July 13th until I am officially the nominee. This was the last week. to try to get me off of the ballot. And he said the same forces that conspired against him were now starving his campaign of resources. A last-ditch effort to snuff out the movement he said he's building. It is a system that is built structurally to make sure that movements like ours cannot flourish. That if they begin to succeed, they can be crushed. Graham Platner has long framed his fight against the political establishment as a shared struggle. But his effort to do it Wednesday came as even his diehard supporters were calling on him to leave the race. Anne Lynn Kruger, a Bar Harbor resident who volunteered for his campaign, believed his denial, but said he needed to drop out. It's not a matter of his proven his innocent or, you know, proving his guilt. It's a matter of political viability. And there is no... honorable or practical path forward for this campaign. And, you know, it distresses me to say that, but I don't think there's any way around it. For Kruger, a self-described New Deal Democrat, Graham Platner was the vessel for a platform that included Medicare for All, tackling wealth inequality in a staunchly anti-war. And she's hopeful the movement he helped lead can advance without him.
We've put together the electorate. We've put together people who can make this change. You're just going to have to do it with this other Democratic nominee. You've got to. There are questions, though, about whether Graham Platner's replacement will have the same ability to tout the progressive platform. Darcy Halverson is a member of the Democratic State Committee. She voted for Graham Platner, but felt betrayed by his scandals. It makes me angry, but deep down, when I really start to think about it, it makes me really sad, too, because his message was so enlightened. I connected with his message, like many people. You know, his message was like nothing I'd heard in a long time. But now Halverson's focus has shifted to how Democrats plan to find a new nominee. She supports the party's recent decision to hold a nominating convention. Given the timetable that we're dealing with, I think it's... It's the fastest way we can get this done and the easiest. The convention means that the replacement candidate will be chosen by about 600 Democrats. That's a stark contrast to the more than 200,000 voters who cast ballots during the Senate primary. Halverson acknowledged that some of Graham Platner's supporters aren't happy about it. You know, obviously they're feeling devastated by their candidate that left, but, you know, they feel left out. They feel like they're not being, you know. not being taken into consideration, and we don't want them to feel that way. Anne Lynn Kruger, the former Graham Platner volunteer, says she's fine with the convention. I just want them to get it. We're up and running as soon as possible and have our nominee. After all, the stakes are high, and the clock is ticking. The deadline to replace Graham Platner is July 27th. The replacement candidate will take on Senator Susan Collins in one of the most consequential races in the country. which is why Plattenor's candidacy drew so much focus from the national press, first with intrigue, then scrutiny, and his replacement is certain to get the same attention. For Maine Public Radio News, I'm Steve Missler. As Maine Democratic Party leaders plan that nominating process, one of the questions they'll consider is how to include independence. High turnout in the Democratic primary in June was fueled in part by unenrolled voters, who participated at roughly three times the rate of the Republican primary, according to Democratic Party data. And state representative Valley Geiger of Rockland, who's considering a run as Graham Platner's replacement, says their voices deserve to be heard. The hope is to figure out a process where both independents and Dems who voted in the last primary, independents who took a Democratic ballot, will be allowed to participate in this caucus and possibly become delegates, or at least have a say in who the delegates are.
Now the list of candidates find to replace Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate is growing. Among them are Troy Jackson, who finished third in last month's Democratic gubernatorial primary ranked choice count. Main Secretary of State Shenabellos also launched her campaign today. She finished fourth in the recent Democratic primary for governor and ran against Republican Senator Susan Collins 12 years ago. During a virtual press conference, Bellows says she has a track record of building bipartisan coalitions during her years as Secretary of State and as a state senator in a district that voted for President Donald Trump. But she also says she supports many of the populist ideals at the heart of Graham Platner's now abandoned Senate campaign. The movement. that Maine people have started is at stake. And I think I am the best candidate to unite the progressive wing of the party because of my record as head of the ACLU and leading on tough fights like marriage equality. Jordan Wood, who ran in the Democratic primary for Maine's second congressional district, also declared his candidacy today for U.S. Senate, as did Maine Beer Company founder Dan Klebin. So did Dr. Nirov Shah. Carol Buske reports. Shaw announced his defeat Susan Cullen's town hall tour in Freeport, saying he wants to build on the momentum that Graham Platner had built. This campaign represents the values that we all care about, building the state and a country where everyone can get ahead, not just the privileged view, respecting our neighbors, engaging in civic dialogue, and most importantly, holding Donald Trump. accountable. Shaw says Susan Collins has had 30 years to pass Medicare for all, make billionaires pay their fair share of taxes, fix a broken immigration system, and stand up to reckless foreign wars, and has failed to do so. For Maine Public Radio News, I'm Carol Buske. The Maine Center for Disease Control has confirmed a second case of Powassan virus for the year, this time in a York County resident. The agency says the person reported the tick-borne infection to the main CDC last week. Symptoms of the virus are similar to other tick-borne diseases and include fever, fatigue, and muscle aches. Infections can also cause neurological conditions and even death. Symptoms usually start one week to one month after being bitten by an infected tick, according to the CDC. To avoid tick bites, health officials advise wearing long pants and sleeves and using EPA-approved repellent while outdoors.
Maine home prices reached a historic high last month, according to the Maine Association of Realtors. The median sales price for a home was $436,000 in June. Sales were up more than 7% last month compared to the previous June, and more than 5,600 homes were on the market last month, the largest for-sale inventory in Maine in more than five years. But the main association of Realtors says that market conditions may vary across the state, and some areas are still experiencing high demand for homes with low inventory. The main Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife will resume complementary ferry service to Swan Island Wildlife Management Area in Richmond this upcoming weekend for the first time in four years. The service will resume because of a bill introduced by Representative Sally Clucci that was approved last year. Reliable ferry access is more than access to the island. It's about access to economic benefits that come with it. breathing new life into our local economy and making sure that future generations will have the chance to learn, explore, and fall in love with Swan Island. Ferry trips will begin this Saturday and will continue on weekends through the Monday of Labor Day weekend. Reservations are required and can be made by calling the Swan Island Ferry Service.
As part of the United States of America's 250th anniversary, all 50 states contributed items to a time capsule that was buried at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia over the holiday weekend. Many of the contributions included commemorative coins and letters from state officials, but as Michael Livingston reports, Maine submitted items representing the state's literary culture, indigenous traditions, and a symbol of its efforts to preserve an endangered marine mammal. In this video, taken on the 4th of July, the nearly 1,000-pound stainless steel cylinder is lowered into the ground by a crane. The capsule is designed to trap air and push out any water, ensuring it will last another 250 years. At Saturday's ceremony, America 250 chief executive Jennifer Condon said, the collection will help future Americans understand what the country was like in the 21st century. Most of us spend our lives looking back. to honor those who came before us, or looking ahead to tomorrow's challenges. But today ask something different of us. It asks us to imagine Americans we will never meet. The National Collection includes hundreds of items, ranging from letters to historical or cultural artifacts. Usually time capses are their child's toys. You know, you have a... a piece of a rock or a letter from your congressman or something like that. Bernard Fishman, director of the Maine State Museum, was asked to consider an item to represent Maine. And he says he wanted to offer something that would invoke more than just state pride. He proposed including the hip bone of an endangered North Atlantic right whale. It's my way, it's our way of asking the future. Okay, guys, did you save the right whales? The rest of the whale's massive skeleton hangs from the ceiling at the Maine State Museum. as part of an incoming exhibit about the state's coastal heritage. We are responsible. We can make an enormous difference if we choose to. And education is the key to getting us to recognize that we need to make sure we have the will to do that. Like other states, Maine included some postcards and a letter from the governor, but it also submitted an item from the first people that settled the region, a woven bookmark, an example of Wabanaki ash and sweet grass basket weaving. And there's a poem, This Home We Carry, by former Maine Poet Laureate Julia Bowsma. What if home begins as simply as a bucket, with light flaming the trees toward morning and a familiar rocking weight? Home swinging at our side as we go about the chores. It was written and recited for Governor Janet Mills's second inauguration in July 2023, but Basma said at the time she was thinking about future generations of Mainers. Thinking about the future and the uncertainty of that was actually really helpful to me when I wrote that first poem because I didn't have an audience right in front of me. I would say, okay, my audience is actually these people in 100 years. And so in a way, that was easier. It took some of the pressure off. The poem reflects on the meaning of home, not simply as a place, but as something carried through memory, hard work, and community.
For in this vessel, we carry cinders, ashes, which are the spent remains of yesterday's fire, but also the memory of its warmth. You know, I do think we try hard. You know, that doesn't mean, it doesn't miss the mark sometimes. But I think, you know, I want them to know that we're hardworking, and I want them to know just how profoundly beautiful this state was and how much that mattered. The time capsule is scheduled to be unearthed and opened on July 4th of the year 2,276. For Maine Public Radio News, I'm Michael Livingston. And that's today's Maine News. For more stories, visit Mainpublic.org. Coming up on Maine calling at 11 o'clock tomorrow morning, Maine filmmakers. I'm Nicole Ogrisco. Thanks for listening.