WASHINGTON, D.C. – New sexual assault allegations against Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner are pushing prominent Democrats to pull their support. Many Democrats saw this race against incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins as a must-win in their attempts to retake control of the Senate.
In an explosive Politico report, a Maine woman told the outlet that Platner entered her home five years ago drunk and assaulted her. She had been in an on-and-off relationship with Platner and said she told him the incident wasn’t consensual. On Monday Platner shared a video statement denying the allegations but stopped short of saying he will drop out of the race. This is the latest allegation against Platner whose campaign has been riddled with controversy.
Platner, a Marine Corps veteran who had won the Democratic nomination in a landslide in June, was seen by the party as someone who is bringing fresh energy into the race and hopeful that they could flip Maine’s Senate seat. Democrats see this race as important to winning back the Senate.
“It is really difficult to see how the Democrats can take back the Senate without Maine,” said Dr. Todd Belt, a professor and director of the political management program at George Washington University. “They need to take four seats away from the Republicans to do it. They were really counting on Maine and North Carolina as some of the prime targets they had. It’s really going to be difficult if they can’t get Maine because now they’ll have to think about Alaska, Texas and Ohio and those are a lot more difficult.”
The Democratic Senate campaign funding arm announced that if Platner remains on the ballot, they will not pour money into the race. Many Democrats including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D- NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I- VT) are calling on Platner to step aside.
If Platner steps aside, we’re told he must make that decision by next Monday. If that happens, Democrats will have to scramble and figure out who will replace him. We’re told Democrats would have until the 27th to find someone that the state’s Democrats could get behind.
