And He is Out

Graham Platner has officially suspended his Senate campaign.

The, "Suspended," rather than, "Ended," is an artifact of campaign finance law.

He ain't coming back.

It appears that the DSCC types are already flocking to Maine in an attempt to ensure that whoever replaces him will be a focus group tested non-entity.

U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, the political upstart who overwhelmingly secured the Democratic nomination just one month ago, has ended his candidacy. His withdrawal from the race now sets up a frantic scramble to replace him on the November ballot. 

Platner announced Wednesday that he's quitting the race in a defiant video statement that blamed the political establishment for his downfall, saying that it conspired against him.

"We believe that for the movement to continue, it can't be me," he said. "And for that reason we are suspending campaign operations."

He also framed his plight as one shared with his base of supporters.

"We live in a political system that is not built for normal people. It is built structurally so that movements like ours cannot flourish, that if they begin to succeed they can be crushed," he said. "What we have accomplished here you made possible ... and I have all the faith in the world that we could win if we continue to harness that. But the brutal political reality is that they're going to take everything away from us."

The moves followed a report by POLITICO that detailed allegations that he sexually assaulted a former girlfriend five years ago. The oysterman and combat veteran strongly denied the report, but it quickly led to a cratering of support from national and local Democrats who had endorsed him. That included leaders in the Maine Democratic Party who will now decide who will replace him on the November ballot to run against Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

They need to select a replacement before July 27, so less than 3 weeks. They are planning a state Party convention.

I expect extensive rat-f%$#ery in the process.  Hopefully this will be both sides, and not just exclusively from the Democratic Party establishment (There is no Democratic Party establishment).

The progressives need to play the same hardball that the Schumer wing of the party does.