Top Democrats pull endorsement of Graham Platner over sexual assault allegations ahead of key Maine race | Today’s news
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Maine Democratic Party leadership asked Graham Platner to back out of the Senate campaign Monday (local time) after a report accused him of sexual assault.
Politico reported that a woman who dated Maine Senate candidate Platner accused him of assault about five years ago despite her repeated objections, which he denied. Platner claimed the allegation was “categorically false” but added that his campaign reflected “the best way forward”.
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Allegations against Graham Platner
A 41-year-old Maine resident, Jenny Racicot, accused Platner of sexual assault. In an interview with Politico, she said the 2021 Maine Senate candidate entered her home uninvited and forced himself on her without consent. The woman said she had been in an on-and-off relationship with Platner for over two years before he sexually assaulted her after entering her home drunk. She added that she cut off contact with him after the incident and told him the encounter was not consensual.
Graham Platner denies allegations of sexual assault
He denied the allegations, calling them “disturbing, serious and false”. In a video posted on X, he said: “Any allegation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false.”
In a video posted on X, Platner said, “Regardless of the inaccuracy of the news, but knowing the political reality it will cause, we are taking time to think about the best way forward for the state I love, the people I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins. Those were the goals when we launched this campaign, and they remain mine today.”
Further, in a statement released on Monday, his campaign called the allegations “coached and coordinated by agents outside the state establishment.”
He added: “For a year, opponents of this campaign have been throwing everything they could at Graham – calling him a Nazi, a war criminal and a communist. None of it was true and it’s no different. It’s no coincidence that this story comes a week before the polls, just as the previous false accusations came a week before the primary. Graham and Maine started this campaign as a first place fight. No amount of desperate smears will stop this movement from realizing that vision looked through.”
Democrats withdraw support for Platner
Shortly after the report, Schumer called Platner and asked him to “immediately withdraw” from the Maine Senate race. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (DN.Y.) joined Schumer in her statement. Another Democrat, Ken Martin, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, also called on Platner to end his campaign, with many other lawmakers condemning his actions. Some of the biggest supporters were Elizabeth Warren, Martin Heinrich and Ro Khanna.
The wave of Democrats distancing themselves from Platner marks a major shift in the party’s response to the controversy surrounding his campaign. Many Democratic leaders have previously defended him or reluctantly embraced his candidacy, even after offensive social media posts, a tattoo of a Nazi symbol and allegations of mistreatment of women in the past.
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With Senate elections looming, the focus will now be on whether Platner stays in the race despite mounting pressure from his own party.
