Graham Platner Drops Out of Maine Senate Race After Latest Rape Allegation

FOXNews.com:

Graham Platner, the embattled Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, suspended his campaign on Wednesday amid mounting controversies and growing calls from top Democrats in his home state, in the nation's capital, and across the country for him to immediately quit the race. 

 

Platner, a populist Democrat backed last September by progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was challenging longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a high-profile, combustible and expensive race in Maine, which is one of a handful that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority in November's midterm elections. 

 

"For the movement to continue, it can’t be me. For that reason, we are suspending campaign operations," Platner said in a video posted to social media.

In the end, it appears that being accused of rape by a fellow liberal (rather than by a conservative, as had been the case just weeks earlier) proved to be the final nail in Graham Platner's political coffin. As the allegation triggered a swift collapse in support from the Left and came shortly after Platner insisted there were no further revelations about his past. In a video announcing the suspension of his campaign, he acknowledged that his operation could no longer raise funds, access key voter data, or maintain the infrastructure needed to compete in a statewide race. His withdrawal also comes as Maine Democrats scramble to replace him before the July 13 candidate deadline, with reports indicating Platner hopes to have a say in selecting his successor. 

Of course, the writing was already on the wall. A recent poll showed Republican incumbent Susan Collins leading the race, and Platner's long list of controversies (including a Nazi tattoo he has had for more than two decades) had already left his candidacy politically damaged. Therefore from a normal perspective, his exit was likely inevitable. What stands out, however, is how many prominent voices on the progressive Left continued defending or minimizing Platner's conduct through each successive scandal because they viewed him as their best chance to help Democrats win that Senate seat.

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