Democrats pressure Graham Platner to drop Maine Senate bid amid allegations

Democratic leaders piled new pressure on Graham Platner on Monday after a POLITICO report said a woman who dated him accused him of forcing her to have sex in 2021. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer urged Platner to “immediately withdraw,” and Platner denied the allegation, calling it false.

Platner won Maine’s June 9 Democratic Senate primary and is set to face Republican incumbent Susan Collins on November 3 in one of the party’s most important chances to flip the chamber. The fallout spread quickly through Democratic leadership, with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee saying they would not invest further if Platner stayed in the race. Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin said it was “time for him to end his campaign,” and Senate Majority PAC said it was redirecting resources away from Maine.

The defections reached across the party’s national ranks. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Martin Heinrich, Sen. Mark Kelly, Gov. Elissa Slotkin, Sen. Jon Ossoff, Sen. Cory Booker, Rep. Adam Schiff, Sen. Ed Markey and Sen. Ruben Gallego all withdrew support or called on Platner to step aside. Outside groups including Our Revolution, VoteVets and End Citizens United also rescinded endorsements, deepening the sense that Platner’s campaign has become a liability for Democrats trying to defend the seat and keep their Senate path open.

Platner, a Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer from Sullivan, has cast himself as a candidate rooted in coastal Maine. Public records and his testimony before the Maine State Legislature identify him as the owner and operator of Frenchman Bay Oyster Company, and he said the farm has been functioning since 2011. That biography helped make him a credible general-election nominee in a state where Democrats had hoped to make Collins vulnerable, but the allegation has now forced the party to weigh whether the risk in November outweighs the chance to compete for the seat.

Separately, the U.S. military launched new strikes against Iran early Wednesday after three merchant ships were struck in the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping chokepoint for global oil flows. U.S. officials said the strikes targeted air defenses, coastal surveillance systems, ground-to-air missiles, launch sites for anti-ship cruise missiles and drones, and possibly port facilities. Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said the attacks violated the interim agreement, as the United States also revoked a license authorizing the sale of Iranian oil after the tanker attacks.