{"id":5137,"date":"2026-07-07T15:37:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T15:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=5137"},"modified":"2026-07-07T15:37:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T15:37:38","slug":"why-democrats-need-graham-platner-to-go-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=5137","title":{"rendered":"Why Democrats need Graham Platner to go away"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n A lot of people called for Graham Platner to drop out of Maine\u2019s Senate race Monday night, after a rape allegation surfaced against the Democratic nominee. But relatively few of them were Republicans.\n <\/p>\n

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\n Even Platner\u2019s GOP opponent, Sen. Susan Collins, called the allegations against the oysterman \u201cappalling\u201d but added that it was \u201cnot up to me to choose the Democratic nominee for Senate.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n There\u2019s a simple reason for that: Democrats\u2019 hopes of winning the seat and, by extension, the Senate, could hinge on Platner stepping aside.\n <\/p>\n

\n For now, Platner is still in the race, and he denies the allegation from former girlfriend Jenny Racicot that he showed up at her residence drunk five years ago and raped her. CNN and Politico, which first reported the story, both corroborated Racicot\u2019s account with people and documents that show she talked about him sexually assaulting her before he was a political candidate.\n <\/p>\n

\n Platner said Monday that he will take some time to \u201creflect\u201d on his candidacy. Platner is also reportedly trying to guide the Maine Democratic Party toward a potential replacement with whom he is politically aligned.\n <\/p>\n

\n So, it might just be a matter of time. July 13 is the deadline for the state party to replace him on the ballot if he withdraws.\n <\/p>\n

\n How much that recasts the race largely depends on who would replace him. Some seemingly strong contenders are epidemiologist Nirav Shah, who finished second in the state\u2019s gubernatorial primary last month, and former state Senate President Troy Jackson, who finished third but is more politically aligned with Platner and the Bernie Sanders wing of the party. Others mentioned include Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and beer entrepreneur Dan Kleban, who briefly ran for Senate.\n <\/p>\n

\n But Platner had indisputably become a liability even before the latest accusation, based on recent polling.\n <\/p>\n

\n While he had been pretty popular before a series of controversies, including revelations about a now-covered tattoo with Nazi imagery and allegations of unsettling behavior toward women he dated, that had begun to change.\n <\/p>\n

\n A New York Times-Portland Press Herald-Siena poll late last month showed likely Maine voters disliked him 50%-45%, and twice as many had a \u201cvery unfavorable\u201d view (36%) as a \u201cvery favorable\u201d one (18%).\n <\/p>\n

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\n A conducted in the same window showed registered voters disliked him 53%-43%. It was also the first quality poll to show him narrowly trailing Collins (50%-47%, within the margin of error).\n <\/p>\n

\n And the warning signs went beyond those topline numbers.\n <\/p>\n

\n To wit:\n <\/p>\n

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