{"id":4726,"date":"2026-07-10T21:03:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T21:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726"},"modified":"2026-07-10T21:03:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T21:03:44","slug":"in-replacing-platner-democrats-are-haunted-by-biden-harris-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726","title":{"rendered":"In replacing Platner, Democrats are haunted by Biden-Harris switch"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>Maine Democrats do not have to look far for a primer on what it is like to replace a deeply flawed nominee forced off the ballot weeks before a deadline to be stuck with him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4724\">Trump will let bipartisan housing bill become law without signing in protest over GOP voter ID law<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Two Julys ago, former President Joe Biden succumbed to political reality following his debate meltdown and ended his reelection bid. Party officials had just two weeks to choose a replacement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Now with Graham Platner planning to remove his name from the Maine Senate ballot before Monday\u2019s deadline, after a rape allegation that he denies, the state party\u2019s officials have to find a new candidate and convince voters that the selection process was fair.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>Recent history suggests neither task is easy. The 2024 anointment of Vice President Kamala Harris left a trail of hurt feelings and second-guessing that has not stopped and political scars that have yet to heal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt would be really awesome if they didn\u2019t Kamala Harris us,\u201d said Michael Rowell, 45, a Democrat of Sullivan, Maine. \u201cA lot of people were disappointed by the way they handled that transition.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Last-minute switches are difficult, said Jaime Harrison, who in 2024 was the Democratic National Committee chair who oversaw the transition from Biden to Harris. \u201cThe reality and the expectations people have are not the same, and that creates a lot of issues for the Maine Democratic Party now, just like at the DNC two years ago.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In many ways, Platner\u2019s successor will face a steeper climb than Harris did when she took over for Biden 107 days before the 2024 election. Biden bequeathed a campaign apparatus and staff and ample operating cash.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Platner boasts 15,000 volunteers, but in his 11-minute withdrawal video, he made no appeal for them to transfer to his successor. And after bowing out in disgrace, Platner\u2019s endorsement is not in high demand in Maine\u2019s abbreviated primary process or its general election.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>There is also the question of campaign cash. Harris inherited Biden\u2019s donor lists and was an immediate fundraising juggernaut. Platner\u2019s campaign was nearly broke and struggled to build a large-donor program.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Whoever replaces him will have to start from scratch. While some of the prospects are former candidates for governor or Senate, quickly pivoting to a high-profile general election campaign will not be easy. On Thursday, the X account of the Senate Democratic campaign arm sent direct messages to Democratic influencers asking them to help raise money for Platner\u2019s replacement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWould you be willing to share the nominee fund ActBlue link to your followers and anyone else who might be interested in amplifying?\u201d the committee wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Veterans of the 2024 switch said it would be important for Maine\u2019s Democratic leadership to leave backers of Platner and whoever does not win the Senate nomination feeling as if they were sufficiently included in the replacement process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAs terrible as Graham Platner is, you have to make sure that those people who supported him don\u2019t feel their voices are discarded in the process,\u201d said Quentin Fulks, who was a deputy campaign manager for Biden and then Harris.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4722\">Red Sox finally take flight from Chicago on Friday afternoon, hours before scheduled game in Queens<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>It is not hard to find Democrats who in retrospect feel it was a mistake to anoint Harris without a competitive process, though few will say so publicly out of fear of alienating the former vice president\u2019s supporters or appearing to insult Black women, one of the party\u2019s core constituencies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Platner, with his myriad warts, was a candidate who created organic excitement from Maine Democrats. The field to replace him does not include anyone who has spawned similar enthusiasm in their political careers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe thing that powered the effectiveness of the switch for us was the enthusiasm for Kamala Harris; people were excited,\u201d said Rob Flaherty, a deputy campaign manager on the Biden and Harris campaigns who this week apologized on his podcast for his past support of Platner. \u201cPart of the question of \u2018Is this switch going to work?\u2019 is going to be: Are people excited about the choice?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Harris and many of her allies have lamented that she had but 107 days between Biden\u2019s dropping out and the general election. Maine\u2019s new Democratic Senate nominee is expected to have even less time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While the Democratic National Committee had rules in place two years ago that governed how it would replace Biden, Maine Democrats have had to create their process this week with little time for consideration.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Maine law gives the party wide latitude to decide how it will choose a new nominee, and officials have discussed holding a 600-member convention before the July 27 deadline for a new nominee.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But they do not have to democratize the process, and not everybody in Democratic circles thinks it is a good idea to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Liam Kerr, a co-founder of WelcomePAC, a centrist Democratic group, said the Maine Democratic Party chair would be better off to simply anoint Rep. Jared Golden, who has twice won reelection while President Donald Trump carried his district.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>(Golden, one of the most conservative Democrats in Washington, has said he is not interested, and his centrist views mean it is unlikely he could win at a party convention, where activists who participate tend to skew more liberal.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Kerr said he was unconcerned about the prospect of nominating Golden resulting in hurt feelings from Platner\u2019s supporters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThere weren\u2019t enough hurt feelings two years ago,\u201d Kerr said. Of Golden, he added: \u201cHe won a district Trump won by 10 points. It\u2019s like we have Michael Jordan in his prime, and we\u2019re letting the season ticket holders play HORSE to decide who our starting guard is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4720\">Here were some of the celebs in Foxborough to see France and Morocco\u2019s World Cup quarterfinal<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span><i>This article originally appeared in <\/i><i>The New York Times<\/i><i>.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The last-minute scramble to name a replacement reminds some in the party of the challenges they faced in 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>In replacing Platner, Democrats are haunted by Biden-Harris switch - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In replacing Platner, Democrats are haunted by Biden-Harris switch - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The last-minute scramble to name a replacement reminds some in the party of the challenges they faced in 2024.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-10T21:03:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4726#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4726\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"In replacing Platner, Democrats are haunted by Biden-Harris switch\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-10T21:03:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4726\"},\"wordCount\":1027,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4726#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3d862b24bba4b777ee9438829bf0d429.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4726#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4726\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4726\",\"name\":\"In replacing Platner, Democrats are haunted by Biden-Harris switch - Boston Relocation Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4726#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4726#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3d862b24bba4b777ee9438829bf0d429.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-10T21:03:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4726#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4726\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4726#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3d862b24bba4b777ee9438829bf0d429.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/3d862b24bba4b777ee9438829bf0d429.avif\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":960},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=4726#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"In replacing Platner, Democrats are haunted by Biden-Harris switch\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Boston Relocation Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"In replacing Platner, Democrats are haunted by Biden-Harris switch - Boston Relocation Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"In replacing Platner, Democrats are haunted by Biden-Harris switch - Boston Relocation Insider","og_description":"The last-minute scramble to name a replacement reminds some in the party of the challenges they faced in 2024.","og_url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726","og_site_name":"Boston Relocation Insider","article_published_time":"2026-07-10T21:03:44+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"headline":"In replacing Platner, Democrats are haunted by Biden-Harris switch","datePublished":"2026-07-10T21:03:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726"},"wordCount":1027,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3d862b24bba4b777ee9438829bf0d429.avif","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726","name":"In replacing Platner, Democrats are haunted by Biden-Harris switch - Boston Relocation Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3d862b24bba4b777ee9438829bf0d429.avif","datePublished":"2026-07-10T21:03:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3d862b24bba4b777ee9438829bf0d429.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/3d862b24bba4b777ee9438829bf0d429.avif","width":1440,"height":960},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4726#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"In replacing Platner, Democrats are haunted by Biden-Harris switch"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/","name":"Boston Relocation Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}