by Ben Whedon
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, on Tuesday confirmed that he had spoken to Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner and asked him to step aside as the party nominee in the wake of a sexual assault allegation.
“I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine. In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside,” Sanders said.
A woman on Monday came forward with allegations that Platner had forced himself on her while intoxicated, which he denies.
In a video addressing the allegations, Planter said the allegations were “false.”
“Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false,” Planter added.
Platner has not indicated plans to step aside but said he would ponder the “best path forward” to defeating Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in November.
Earlier in the day, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged Platner to step aside.
“I believe it’s time for him to drop out of the race. The only appropriate response is for the campaign to come to an end,” Mamdani noted.
The Maine Democratic Party is calling on Platner to drop out of the race.
“Maine Democratic Party leadership takes seriously our responsibility to hold every candidate who seeks to represent our state to the highest standard,” the party said.
Prominent Democrats such as Sen. Ruben Gallego and Reps. Ro Khanna and Rashida Tlaib have dropped their endorsements of Platner.
He has until July 13 to do so to allow the state party to select an alternative candidate.
Platner previously weathered scandals involving extramarital sexting, obscene Reddit posts, and a Totenkopf tattoo.
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Ben Whedon is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
Photo “Bernie Sanders and Graham Platner” by Bernie Sanders.Â
