Graham Platner Needs To Step Down

A disappointing, yet predictable ending for Platner

By: Austin Abbring

July 7, 2026

Photo Credit: The Bulwark, unedited, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode.en

Graham Platner needs to step down following these allegations of rape against him. Jenny Racicot reluctantly came forward recently with a horrifying and detailed account of the Maine Senate candidate allegedly raping her in 2021. It is truly awful how she delayed coming forward out of fear of backlash from Platner and Democratic Party supporters, given the implications that Platner might have been a major factor in flipping the Senate to Democrats in November. If only we lived in a society where victims of sexual violence were not fearful of coming forward for any reason, especially when it involves a high-profile individual like in this instance.

Platner handily won the Democratic primary in Maine around a month ago, despite his controversial past. I will admit, I was initially excited about his platform. I believed he might have changed for the better and that he really regretted his troubled youth and learned from it, so I was willing to give him a chance. He said all the right things in terms of fighting the oligarchy, for workers’ rights, on the housing crisis, and for critiquing the U.S.’s involvement in forever wars like the ones in the Middle East that we have been quagmired in for practically this entire century so far. However, as more of his past resurfaced, I struggled to really get behind and trust him. I am not going to sit here and pretend like I knew the extent of his poor judgment and treat this as an “I told you so”, so to speak. However, there was nothing to be surprised about here. There had to have been better, and there are better progressive-type candidates to support. Ones that do not have sexual misconduct and now rape allegations attached to them, ones that have not made very disconcerting comments online (his Reddit posts), ones that have not served multiple tours in the military and then continued functioning in that capacity with mercenary groups (his ties to Blackwater), and ones that did not cover up a tattoo that was practically a Totenkopf (Nazi SS insignia). We could have done better. I think this is a learning moment for folks on the left, especially the farther left, and even for me, as I gave Platner too much rope initially. If you have 70-30, 60-40, or 50-50 feelings about a candidate, it is best to trust your gut. It is next to impossible to find a perfect candidate, but the split should be like 95-5, without being too pedantic.

This really speaks to how desperate we are for candidates with a shared vision, like Bernie Sanders, Mamdani, or with some sort of radical change to our systems and how we operate as a government to better protect the working class. No matter how great an economic platform a candidate may have, we cannot ignore any social blind spots, questionable statements in public forums, or alarming servility to the military-industrial complex.

There will come a day when a candidate with a platform like Platner, without all of the adverse traits and background, will hopefully become commonplace. We will be choosing among several candidates of that ilk rather than settling for one dubious candidate or the lesser of two evils. Now that is not at all to take away from the necessary and exciting momentum the far-left wing of the Democratic Party has created in my estimation. I do not want to diminish that progress with voters in any way by suggesting that candidates should simply tout those policy platforms to get elected, only to then not deliver. That is the cycle we have been trying to break with the current iterations of both parties over the last several decades. I just know we will have more Mamdani’s, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s, Bernie Sanders’, Abdul El-Sayed’s, Claire Valdez’s, Ilhan Omar’s, et cetera in the future to choose from and not have to simply just hope discouraging character concerns are false.

Platner has until July 13th to decide whether to stay in the race or drop his candidacy.

The worst part about our current society is that he would probably win if he stays in the race. I mean, 77 million people voted for Donald Trump, most of whom knew he is civilly liable for sexual abuse, and at least 28 more women have accused him of sexual crimes. Ken Paxton, who is also running in a Senate race in Texas against Democrat James Talarico, was just caught on video, up close and personal, with another woman who was not his wife. It seems to be primarily a men’s issue. Maybe it’s time for more women to have a turn in power, just a thought. I am not attempting to downplay Jenny Racicot’s terrifying experience or treat this as a competition in any way. It just shows how far removed we are from a healthy, balanced society with trustworthy people in power or running for elected office.

Should Platner leave the race, the Democratic Party in Maine will have until July 27th to nominate a replacement. There are several names popping up right now, but it seems that Troy Jackson, Nirav Shah, and Shenna Bellows have the most traction to run for the seat currently. Troy Jackson has a campaign platform similar to Platner’s and is more of a progressive candidate. The Democrats of Maine are most likely going to nominate a progressive candidate to hopefully revive any momentum lost from Platner, should he withdraw. I would be fine with Jackson, but I am leaning more towards Shenna Bellows right now, despite her odds being lower than Jackson’s. This in terms of who I prefer of the two, not who I think will ultimately be selected.