Source: Politics<\/p>\n
GORHAM, Maine \u2014 The dam has broken on Graham Platner\u2019s candidacy.<\/p>\n
Democratic leaders in Maine and Washington, along with a growing pack of Platner\u2019s close supporters, abandoned his Senate campaign on Monday after POLITICO reported that a woman<\/a> who dated him said he forced her to have sex with him. Platner called the allegation false.<\/p>\n Just hours after the story published, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Platner to \u201cimmediately withdraw\u201d as the Democratic nominee in the Maine Senate race. The battleground contest is crucial for Democrats\u2019 chances of winning the Senate in November.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, which had been fundraising with Platner<\/a>, said Monday that it was \u201ctime for him to end his campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n A flood of Democratic senators joined Schumer and Gillibrand in condemning Platner. Some of his biggest backers \u2014 Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) \u2014 called on him to exit the race, as did Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). Another staunch supporter and potential 2028 presidential hopeful, Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, withdrew his endorsement. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who had expressed support for Platner last month, said Monday he \u201ccannot support his candidacy.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, one of Platner’s most prominent Senate backers, Bernie Sanders, has yet to comment on the news.<\/p>\n The money that would be crucial to Democrats\u2019 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which elevates former veterans as Democratic candidates, and the progressive good-governance group End Citizens United, rescinded their endorsements Monday.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 \u201credirecting resources away from the Maine Senate race in light of the latest allegations.\u201d<\/p>\n The exodus of Democratic support marks a significant break from how the party has responded to the previous scandals<\/a> and controversies that have dogged his campaign. Many Democrats defended Platner \u2014 or otherwise begrudgingly accepted the success of his campaign \u2014 even after his history of offensive online comments, his tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol, and accusations of past mistreatment of women came to light.<\/p>\n Democrats who had hoped to nominate Maine Gov. Janet Mills coalesced behind Platner after she dropped out of the race, leaving Platner effectively uncontested in the primary, which he handily won last month.<\/p>\n Their reversals now come after 41-year-old Maine resident Jenny Racicot told POLITICO Platner entered her home uninvited in 2021 and forced himself on her without her consent. Platner denied the allegations.<\/p>\n But some Maine Democrats have begun to scramble in the wake of the report, amid the tidal wave of calls for Platner to leave the race: If he withdraws before next Monday, Maine law allows the state party to select his replacement.<\/p>\n Former Democratic gubernatorial candidates Troy Jackson, a Bernie Sanders-endorsed progressive, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former public health official Nirav Shah are taking calls about replacing Platner, according to three people familiar with those conversations, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive discussions.<\/p>\n Maine Democratic nominee for governor Hannah Pingree also called for Platner to exit the race.<\/p>\n