Dems hit by last-minute Platner anxiety before Maine Senate primary

Democrats have been caught in the bind Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) sought to avoid when he backed Gov. Janet Mills over Graham Platner in the Maine Senate race.

Why it matters: Democrats must now support an untested and largely unvetted outsider as he faces intense media scrutiny over his relationship with women in a must-win race.

• ⏰ Maine's Democratic primary to take on Sen. Susan Collins (R) in November is in eight days.

🔄 Zoom in: Practically, it might be feasible to swap out candidates. Politically, it will be close to impossible.

• "I've heard some of my colleagues' concerns about what we've read in the papers," Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who backed Mills, told Axios. "But at the end of the day, we've got to win."
• "We know that at this point this man can still win the race, and as long as he continues, I think we'll all be there," Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said.

✈️ Driving the news: Platner will have an opportunity to address senators' concerns during a meeting with Senate Democrats tomorrow afternoon, followed by two fundraisers, as Axios scooped today.

• "I'll know more after tomorrow's briefing on that," Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) said. "But clearly, campaigns and candidates have to be fully transparent as things come out."
• "He has to answer those questions directly and forthrightly. They're fair questions," Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said. "It's going to be on him to answer them, and it's going to be up to the voters of Maine to decide."

⚡️ The intrigue: Some of Mills' political allies have encouraged her to reactivate her campaign, according to people familiar with the matter. So far, she has demurred.

• But she fueled speculation today that she could rejoin the race, telling the Portland (Maine) Press Herald: "People have the impression that I 'withdrew' or 'dropped out,' but I simply suspended active campaigning. I am still on the ballot."

🪓 Between the lines: Democrats do have a break-glass option if more damaging revelations emerge.

• Maine law allows a party to replace its nominee if the primary winner withdraws by the second Monday in July, which is July 13. The replacement would be selected at a party convention rather than through another primary.

✅ The bottom line: Progressive senators who backed Platner in their proxy battle with Schumer aren't abandoning him.

• "I think it's important for us to focus on the issues facing working families a little bit more than Graham Platner's marriage," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said.
• "Susan Collins has a history of supporting Donald Trump," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told reporters. "Graham Platner is showing the courage and determination to take that on. I believe that's what the people of Maine care most about."