SouthernWorldwide.com – A serious rape allegation has significantly disrupted the campaign of Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, yet some of his prominent progressive supporters in Congress remain steadfastly in his corner.
At least three Democratic lawmakers – Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) – have not yet withdrawn their support or urged Platner to abandon his candidacy. This comes after Jenny Racicot, a 41-year-old Maine resident, accused him of rape in interviews with Politico and CNN.
This subdued reaction highlights a pattern where some progressives continue to back Platner despite a string of scandals that could jeopardize his Senate bid.
Some of Platner’s supporters view his ascent as part of a larger internal struggle within the Democratic Party, positioning the Senate hopeful as a symbol of a more populist, far-left ideology.
The Democratic Party in Maine had previously rejected Platner’s primary opponent, Governor Janet Mills, who was aligned with the party’s establishment. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also supported Mills. Mills had withdrawn from the race weeks before the June primary due to weak polling and fundraising challenges.
In contrast, other prominent left-leaning figures, including Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), were quick to retract their endorsements of Platner and called for his withdrawal from the race. Similarly, Schumer and the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, which had only endorsed Platner after his primary victory in June, demanded an immediate halt to his campaign.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who had previously dismissed a physical abuse allegation by a former girlfriend of Platner, Lyndsey Fifield, as “a lot of nothing” in an interview with NOTUS, rescinded his support for Platner on Tuesday following Racicot’s rape accusation.
Whitehouse’s statement comes as Democrats face increased scrutiny over their handling of the accusations against Platner, particularly after years of taking a firm stance against allegations of sexual misconduct.
“Many people owe apologies to Lyndsey Fifield, most notably Sheldon Whitehouse, who dismissed her allegations by claiming she worked for ‘right-wing political operations,'” journalist Josh Barro commented on social media.
Sanders, a key figure among the party’s progressive wing who had campaigned with Platner on multiple occasions, remained notably silent after Racicot’s rape allegation. He had previously continued to support Platner after Fifield’s allegations surfaced in early June and following reports that Platner had sent sexually explicit text messages to at least six women while married.
“We have a housing crisis. People cannot afford healthcare, they cannot afford groceries, they cannot afford to fill their gas tanks. And I believe it is important for us to focus more on the issues facing working families than on Graham Platner’s marriage,” Sanders stated to reporters in June, in remarks obtained by NBC.
Murphy also publicly defended Platner after news broke about his infidelity to his wife, Amy Gertner, whom he married in 2023. Murphy continued to support Platner’s Senate bid even after Fifield and other women accused Platner of abuse.
Amid the escalating controversies, Murphy suggested that Platner still possessed more character than the incumbent Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine).
“Graham Platner is someone who served our country, he has served his community; he has also made mistakes, and he has admitted that,” Murphy said during an interview with CBS News in May. “Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country.”
“And this race will be a contrast between someone who has put his life on the line for this country, against someone who is literally empowering the moral decay of our nation from the White House,” he added.
Meanwhile, Van Hollen, a progressive senator with leadership aspirations, strongly defended Platner when he faced scrutiny over a tattoo linked to Nazis and controversial online posts. In these posts, Platner had declared himself a communist, disparaged law enforcement, Black people, and White rural Americans, and mocked a teenage girl’s suicide.
“He has been very clear that he went into combat on behalf of the United States, he went through a very difficult period, a PTSD-type period,” Van Hollen told Punchbowl News in April.
“He himself has said there are many things he has done and said that he completely regrets, and I do believe people should have second chances and that people can learn from their mistakes, and I think he has been doing that,” he concluded.
