Sanders, who had been one of Platner’s highest-profile supporters, said Tuesday that he advised the Democratic candidate to step aside after the allegations were reported.
Progressive Dems Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Bernie Sanders called on Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner to withdraw from the race following allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman he was dating in 2021.
Sanders, who had been one of Platner’s highest-profile supporters, said Tuesday that he advised the Democratic candidate to step aside after the allegations were reported.
“I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine,” Sanders said in a statement. “In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”
Warren, in a statement, wrote that “there can be no tolerance for sexual assault.”
“Now more than ever we need leaders in Washington who reflect our values,” Warren said. “There can be no tolerance for sexual assault. Working families are counting on Democrats to win the Senate election in Maine to unrig our economy and hold Donald Trump accountable. With so much at stake, the best path forward is for Graham Platner to step aside as the Democratic nominee and address these serious allegations outside this Senate race.”
Platner is seeking to challenge Sen. Susan Collins as Democrats attempt to regain control of the Senate in the November election.
Several other Democratic officials who previously backed Platner have withdrawn their support following the report. Sens. Elizabeth Warren , Chris Van Hollen, and Ruben Gallego were among those who ended their endorsements.
Senate Democratic leaders have called on Platner to leave the race. Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who leads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, called for him to step aside and allow another candidate to take on Collins.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and other leftist figures have also distanced themselves from Platner amid the allegations.
The woman who made the allegations, Jenny Racicot, said she had not come forward earlier because of what she described as a conflict between supporting Platner’s political views and her allegations against him.
"One of the reasons I didn’t come forward sooner was, the huge moral conflict that I had between supporting his politics, but not supporting him as a person," Racicot told Politico. "I just want the truth out there. I just want people to have a whole scope of who he is as a person."
Racicot alleged that Platner forced her to have sex with him in 2021 despite her objections. Politico reported that her account was corroborated through conversations with a former boyfriend she had confided in, as well as documents and messages involving Racicot, her therapist and another friend.
"I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me. I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, 'This is no longer my choice.'"
During an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Racicot was asked whether she believed Platner raped her.
"By definition, yes, absolutely," she said, adding that she believed he "violated multiple levels of consent that night, by coming into my home when I asked him not to, by advancing on me when I told him not to, and furthermore, another incident that I told him not to do."
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