Graham Platner, the self-described Communist with a Nazi tattoo and a long paper trail on social media, was obviously a person of low character from the beginning. But he polled pretty well against Susan Collins, so every prominent Democrat stuck with him. Or pretended to, anyway. Maybe they were just looking for the right opportunity to jump ship.
That opportunity came today, when Politico released a report, based on its own interviews, that Platner raped a now-41 year old woman, five years ago:
A woman who dated Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner says he forced her to have sex with him nearly five years ago despite her repeated objections, an allegation Platner denies.
The woman, a 41-year-old Maine resident named Jenny Racicot, detailed the alleged incident to POLITICO in three interviews over the past two weeks. POLITICO also spoke with a man Racicot dated and confided in the years after the alleged incident, and reviewed documents, including emails between Racicot and her therapist and messages between Racicot and an acquaintance whom she warned against getting involved with Platner years before he ran for office.
The woman had dated Platner, but says:
…he entered her rural Maine home uninvited one night in late 2021, deeply intoxicated, and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop.
Platner called the allegation “troubling, serious, and false.” But reaction from the Democratic Party was immediate, and support for Platner appears to have collapsed. The New York Times headlines: “Calls Mount for Platner to End Campaign After Rape Accusation.” It says that Platner is “taking time to ‘reflect’ on his path forward.” Which I assume means that he is going to withdraw.
The calls for Platner to withdraw come from, among others, Chuck Schumer. One might have thought that for Schumer, a Jew, the Nazi tattoo would have been enough. But no. Schumer has plenty of company, including the Maine Democratic Party, which has called on Platner to withdraw as their Senate candidate.
According to the linked Axios article, under Maine law the Democrats have until July 13 for Platner to withdraw. If he does so by then, they have 14 days to simply name a replacement candidate–presumably, current Maine Governor Janet Mills, whom Platner drove out of the primary race. Mills will stand a significantly better chance than Platner of beating the incumbent Susan Collins.
What to make of it all? The whole thing seems scripted, but it probably wasn’t. On the other hand, I don’t think it was coincidence that Politico published its piece a week before the deadline for Democrats to replace Platner as their candidate. The Democratic establishment wanted Platner out, not because he is a disgusting human being and a Communist with a Nazi tattoo, but because he was likely to lose to Susan Collins. For them, Janet Mills is a better bet. So Platner had to go.
The Babylon Bee gets the last word:
