Graham Platner allies demand he exit Maine race over rape allegation
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Maine Democrats’ Senate candidate Graham Platner campaigned on building a growing progressive coalition, but some of the key candidates running across the country have now turned against him.
Platner’s campaign against Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, took a hit Monday. Politico’s report It was alleged that the candidate MP raped an ex-girlfriend. Within hours of the allegation breaking, several high-profile candidates disavowed him and demanded he drop out of the race.
“The credible allegations against Graham Platner cannot be ignored; he must withdraw from the race immediately,” Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico said in a statement.
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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner participates in a television interview on May 1, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)
Talarico and other Democratic Senate candidates who describe themselves as progressives, including Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, former Rep. Mary Peltola of Alaska, former Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota, have called on Platner to drop out of the race.
“Credible allegations of sexual assault cannot be ignored,” El-Sayed said. “Voters in Maine deserve an election for the U.S. Senate that does not force them into a moral compromise between sexual violence or corporate slavery.”
But after the many scandals that followed his campaign, five Senate hopefuls publicly admonished Platner for the first time.
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Fox News Digital did not immediately hear from each campaign as to why each candidate chose to break with Platner now rather than after the earlier allegations. New York Times He said the Maine candidate had displayed “disturbing” behavior toward women, often revolving around alcohol and alleged intimidation.
Platner, meanwhile, has yet to withdraw from contention in the contest that Democrats see as key to winning back the Senate.
In a video statement released minutes after Politico’s report, Platner denied the rape allegation but acknowledged it could be true in his campaign.
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Texas Democratic Senate candidate and Texas state Rep. James Talarico speaks during the Hispanic Caucus at the Hilliard Center in Corpus Christi on June 26, 2026. (Katina Zentz/San Antonio Express News via Getty Images)
“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the news, but mindful of the political reality it will bring, we are taking time to reflect on the best path forward for the state I love, the people I love, the movement to which I belong, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins,” he said.
The clock is ticking for Democrats to determine their next move — the deadline for a candidate to drop out in Maine is July 13. If Platner withdraws by then, the Maine Democratic Party, which also rejected his campaign, has until July 27 to nominate a replacement.
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And Collins, the political foe Platner and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-Y) are desperately trying to defeat, remains an arm’s length away from the turmoil across the political spectrum.
“These allegations are appalling,” Collins said in a statement. “Still, it’s not my place to choose the Democratic nominee for the Senate.”
