Sanders Tells Rape-Accused Senate Candidate to Get Out

What Platner Is Actually Accused Of

Here's what started this latest fire. Politico reported Monday that a Maine woman named Jenny Racicot, 41, says Platner entered her home without permission in late 2021, drunk, and forced himself on her. CNN also spoke with Racicot. She and Platner had met on a dating app in 2019 and had previously had a consensual relationship before the night in question.

Platner called the allegation "categorically false." He also said he was reflecting on "the best path forward," which is political-speak for a man watching his support evaporate in real time and trying to figure out which way the exit is.

This is not, by the way, the first time Democrats have had to issue a statement about Graham Platner's behavior toward women. Not even close.

The Scandals They Ignored to Get Here

Let's do a quick inventory, because context matters. Before the rape allegation, there was a former girlfriend, Lyndsey Fifield, who accused Platner of physical abuse. There were reports of sexually explicit text messages sent to at least half a dozen women while he was married. There were resurfaced Reddit posts. There is, apparently, a Nazi symbol tattoo. This man ran for U.S. Senate in 2026 with that resume.

And Democrats backed him anyway. Sanders kept backing him. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut kept backing him. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island called Fifield's abuse allegation "a lot of nothing" in an interview with NOTUS, partly on the grounds that she worked for "right-wing political operations." He withdrew that support Tuesday, after the rape allegation came out.

As journalist Josh Barro noted on social media: "A lot of people owe apologies to Lyndsey Fifield." That is an understatement that deserves to be carved into something permanent.

The Stampede for the Exits

Once the rape allegation landed Monday night, the endorsement rescissions started coming like an avalanche. Sen. Elizabeth Warren pulled her support. Rep. Ro Khanna pulled his. Sen. Chris Van Hollen sent Fox News Digital a statement Tuesday saying "these allegations are serious and cannot be ignored" and calling on Platner to step aside. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded the immediate suspension of his campaign.

The Senate Democrats' campaign arm said it would not invest in the race if Platner stayed on the ballot. The Senate Majority PAC announced it was redirecting resources away from Maine entirely. Without those two pillars, Platner doesn't have a campaign. He has a press release and a denial.

Sanders' statement Tuesday, telling Platner directly that he had "recommended that he step aside," was the last domino of any real size. Sanders was one of Platner's most prominent validators, had campaigned with him in Maine, and had specifically deflected questions about the earlier scandals by pivoting to kitchen-table economic issues. That cover is now gone.

The One Guy Still Standing There

Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut is, according to Fox News reporting, the only prominent Platner supporter who had not publicly abandoned him as of Tuesday. Murphy had previously defended Platner through the cheating allegations by suggesting Platner still had more character than incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins. "Graham Platner is somebody who served our country, he's served his community; he's also made mistakes, and he's admitted that," Murphy said in an interview.

Murphy is going to need a better answer than that very shortly.

The Clock Is Actually Ticking

There is a real, hard deadline here. Under Maine election law, as CBS News reports, candidates can be replaced if they withdraw by 5 p.m. on the second Monday in July, which is July 13. After that point, the state party has a two-week window to select a new nominee.

So the question of whether Platner steps aside is not purely theoretical or political. It has a specific timestamp attached to it. If he runs out the clock, Maine Democrats are stuck with him on the ballot or face a chaotic scramble under the two-week fallback process. Either way, Republicans are delighted. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who chairs the Senate GOP's campaign arm, put it with his usual grace: "The Democrat candidate in Maine will either be an alleged rapist with a Nazi tattoo, or someone he selects with the same 'values and vision.'" Scott is a cynical opportunist who would have said nothing if Platner were a Republican, but the raw material for that quote was handed to him by Democrats, and he's not wrong that they have a problem.

Maine was supposed to be a top Democratic pickup opportunity going into November. Susan Collins has always been beatable on paper. That path is now somewhere between very complicated and completely closed, depending on what Platner does in the next few days.