The Democratic Party is in full damage-control mode as Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner faces a wave of demands to withdraw from his campaign.
The pressure follows a series of interviews detailing serious allegations of sexual assault, including claims from a former partner who alleges Platner entered her home uninvited and assaulted her while intoxicated. Another woman has accused him of 'stealthing,' a practice involving the nonconsensual removal of a condom during sexual activity.
These claims have prompted a mass exodus of support from high-profile Democrats, including Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Martin Heinrich, as well as Representative Ro Khanna. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has signaled it will pull funding from the race if Platner remains on the ticket.
The candidate, who has previously faced backlash for a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, unearthed comments dismissing sexual assault victims, and admissions of marital infidelity, continues to deny the latest allegations as 'categorically false.' Despite his insistence that he is reflecting on the 'best path forward,' the Maine Democratic Party has officially called for his resignation.
With the July 13 deadline for ballot removal approaching, party insiders are already scrambling to find a replacement candidate to salvage their longshot bid to flip the seat held by Republican incumbent Susan Collins.
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