The Democratic Party’s path to a US Senate majority this November has been thrown into turmoil after yet another historic claim of sexual misconduct appeared to torpedo the campaign of its controversial candidate in Maine, Graham Platner.
Mr. Platner has been a lightning rod for criticism since he became the party’s presumptive nominee some months ago. His rise from complete obscurity to becoming the leading challenger for the seat held by Republican Susan Collins, sitting chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, sent the mainstream press in the US into a frenzy of coverage.
At first, that coverage was flattering: Graham Platner was initially presented to the US public as a retired war hero who had gone home to small-town Maine to work as an oyster fisherman, becoming ever more disillusioned about the gap between what America spends on its military interventions overseas and the low standard of living many blue-collar workers endure on the home front. He was also that most attractive of things for any political movement: a convert. Platner’s story was that despite being a former Republican voter, he had read and consumed enough literature to be finally able to diagnose his country’s problems as the triumph of capitalism, and learned to embrace socialism as a solution. He was a muscular, rough-around-the-edges, masculine avatar of working-class outrage – or, as his stylistic opposite, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren said while endorsing him, “my kind of man”.
Then the problems began to emerge.
A Campaign Plagued by Controversy
Platner had, for many years, sported the death’s head tattoo of the Nazi SS on his chest, professing not to have had any clue what it signaled. Past abusive and sexist tweets began to emerge. Rumors of serial infidelity, too. “Nobody’s perfect”, said Democrats, who continued to support him. Besides, they argued: none of what Platner was accused of would have been considered disqualifying by Republicans who voted for Donald Trump, who has his own long history of scandals, infidelity and foul-mouthed behavior.
Then, last month, a registered Republican voter called Lyndsey Fifield came forward. She claimed that she had dated Graham Platner in the early 2020s and had been a victim of his abuse. He had been controlling and manipulative and sometimes violent. Platner denied the charges, and Democrats stuck with him – with thousands of tweets and comments on websites pointing out that Fifield, as a conservative, may have had a political motive to make her allegations.
An Impeccably-Credentialled Accuser
The latest accuser, however, is a progressive and a liberal who says that she shares Platner’s politics. And Jenny Racicot’s claim is even more explosive: while she does not use the word directly, her account amounts to an allegation of rape. Platner, while they were dating in the early 2020s, came to her house in the dead of night, she says. He broke in. He had sex with her against her will. The next morning, she banished him from the house and from her life, but never reported the matter to police. She did, however, discuss it with a therapist and with friends, all of whom substantiate her story.
Now, for progressives, there is no hiding. US Senator Warren has quietly rescinded her endorsement, as have a raft of other Democrats. Far-left online activist Hasan Piker, whose activism for Platner was key to raising his profile, has similarly walked away, declaring the candidate “done”. Platner himself has said he is “reflecting” on his campaign.
Democrats Saved by the Clock?
The timing, at least, is fortuitous for Democrats. So long as Platner drops from the race by 13 July, the party can nominate a replacement candidate – though that candidate would be starting from scratch without money or any campaign infrastructure.
Further, the option depends on Platner quietly withdrawing. However, noises from his camp suggest that he will only do so if he is satisfied that the candidate who replaces him “shares the values on which our campaign was built”.
This gives Republicans a ready-made attack line: Democrats get to choose between the accused rapist with the Nazi tattoo or his hand-picked replacement.
The disaster is the latest to befall the Democratic Party in pursuit of a Senate seat that has frustrated them for more than two decades. Senator Collins, a moderate Republican, has held the seat for a quarter century even as the state around her becomes more and more left-leaning. Her record of local delivery and strategic moderation, combined with a notably quiet and warm demeanor, has enabled her to fend off repeated challengers despite being a heavy nominal underdog. Once again, she has been blessed on this occasion by a deeply troubled opponent.
An Unexpected Gift for the GOP
For Democrats nationally, the unfolding catastrophe in Maine is terrible news. Since only one third of US Senate seats are contested at each election, parties can get unlucky about the terrain on which they fight – and in this election there are very few Republican-held seats in winnable states available. Maine was the number one chance for a seat gain. It is almost impossible to see Democrats winning the Senate without it.
For now, however, political reality seems inescapable: Platner, as an accused rapist, simply cannot win in a blue state. Replacing him means putting a new candidate in a terrible position.
For Republicans, suffering nationally over Trump’s falling approval ratings, the story is an enormous – and unexpected – gift.