The dam has broken on Graham Platner’s candidacy.
A wave of prominent Democrats, from Platner’s most progressive allies to top Democratic leadership, are bailing on his Senate campaign after POLITICO reported that a woman who dated him said he forced her to have sex with him. Platner called the allegation false.
On Monday night — just hours after the story published — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Platner to “immediately withdraw” as the Democratic nominee in the Maine Senate race. The battleground contest iscrucial for Democrats’ chances of winning the Senate in November.
Schumer was joined in that statement by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which said last week it was in the process of opening a joint fundraising committee with Platner. On Monday the committee said it would no longer invest in the race if he stays on the ballot.
A flood of Democratic senators joined Schumer and Gillibrand in condemning Platner, including several potential 2028 presidential hopefuls. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) all called on Platner to exit the race. Even former staunch supporters — like progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) — and Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego withdrew their endorsements. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who had expressed support for Platner last month, said Monday he “cannot support his candidacy.”
Meanwhile, two of Platner’s most prominent Senate backers, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, have yet to comment on the news.
The money that would be crucial to Democrats’ hopes of flipping the seat also immediately dried up. Key outside groups organizing on his behalf, including VoteVets, which elevates former veterans as Democratic candidates, and the progressive good-governance group End Citizens United, rescinded their endorsements Monday. Senate Majority PAC, the top super PAC supporting Senate Democrats, said it is “redirecting resources away from the Maine Senate race in light of the latest allegations.”
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