{"id":6593,"date":"2026-07-07T21:36:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T21:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6593"},"modified":"2026-07-07T21:36:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T21:36:03","slug":"maine-voters-once-loyal-to-platner-abandon-him-after-sexual-assault-allegation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=6593","title":{"rendered":"Maine voters, once loyal to Platner, abandon him after sexual assault allegation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some voters said they stuck with the progressive candidate through several controversies, but drew the line after a new allegation of sexual assault.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more Judge blocks DOJ effort to obtain info on 2020 election workers in Georgia<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
A Maine voter holds up a campaign flier for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner last month during a town hall in Portland. (Laura Brett\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

To Katie Herklotz, backing Graham Platner in his U.S. Senate bid has felt like being stuck on a \u201croller coaster\u201d for nearly a year.<\/p>\n

In 2020, after Republican Sen. Susan Collins won a fifth consecutive term to the Maine seat, Herklotz thought the state was ready for someone new. \u201cWe just need a progressive lobsterman to run against her,\u201d Herklotz, who works in insurance, remembered telling her friends.<\/p>\n

Platner, a liberal upstart and oysterman, seemed to fit her vision perfectly when he came onto the scene last year.<\/p>\n

Herklotz, 35, stood by him through a series of scandals that surfaced about his personal history. But she said the latest reports<\/a> of a sexual assault allegation against him have drawn a line that she will not cross. She said she no longer supports him, and hopes he will drop out of the race soon, which would allow <\/b>another candidate to take his place as the Democratic nominee for the Senate seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just didn\u2019t really feel like I had a choice anymore,\u201d Herklotz said.<\/p>\n

On Monday, news broke<\/a> that a woman Platner previously dated had accused him of sexual assault. Jenny Racicot said Platner showed up at her home intoxicated and had nonconsensual intercourse with her. After Racicot spoke publicly about her story, Platner denied wrongdoing. He said his campaign was \u201ctaking the time to reflect on the best path forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Platner has weathered a spate of controversies surrounding his past comments and behavior toward women. But the new allegation is the first accusation of sexual assault against him.<\/p>\n

As Democratic leaders press for Platner to drop out and rescind their endorsements, voters who saw him as a candidate with promise said they have been studying news accounts of the allegations, talking with friends and weighing whether they will remain in his camp.<\/p>\n

Democrats, under state law, would be able to put a replacement candidate on the ballot only if Platner steps down by a Monday deadline.<\/p>\n

During previous controversies \u2014 including over a tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol that he has since altered, comments he made online about <\/b>sexual assault<\/a> and sexually explicit texts he sent to women outside of his marriage \u2014 supporters said they were satisfied by how Platner explained himself. He said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder that was untreated at the time of the online comments, and he had gone to therapy to work through his personal struggles.<\/p>\n

For weeks, Democratic Mainers and party leaders continued to see the fiery candidate as the state\u2019s best chance at unseating the incumbent Collins.<\/p>\n

Ahead of this week, Drake Routhier, 33, was eager to attend his first town hall to hear Platner speak. It was scheduled to take place Monday night in Sanford, where Routhier lives. Hours before the first story of the sexual assault allegation broke, the event was canceled.<\/p>\n

At first, Routhier was skeptical, unsure what to believe. He wanted to hear more from Platner.<\/p>

Read more Trump weighed in on Cabinet squabble over ride for July Fourth flyover<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHope youre able to reschedule and get back on the circuit in this area again soon,\u201d Routhier, who works for a bank, wrote in a comment under Platner\u2019s video statement addressing the sexual assault claim.<\/p>\n

But in the hours afterward, Routhier reconsidered. He read in its entirety the first report chronicling Racicot\u2019s allegation from Politico<\/a>. Routhier said he was struck by the details of the encounter and Racicot\u2019s admission that she struggled with whether to come forward because she agreed with Platner\u2019s politics but did not support him as a person.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does seem like there have been enough red flags and bad things that he\u2019s done leading up to this, where I just can\u2019t force the support, no matter how much I agree with his policies,\u201d Routhier said. He is now hoping to see Platner exit the race and be replaced by a different progressive candidate.<\/p>\n

A handful of Democrats in Maine have already hinted<\/a> that they would like to take Platner\u2019s place, including gubernatorial candidates Troy Jackson and Nirav Shah.<\/p>\n

Christy Cross, a 74-year-old retiree, wasn\u2019t yet ready to abandon Platner. She was conflicted \u2014 she thought the allegation that surfaced Monday was very credible, but she did not want to see Collins, whom Cross once voted for, win a sixth term.<\/p>\n

Seeing the slate of stories about the new accusation and prominent backers like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) pull their endorsements irked her. In her view, people made up their minds too quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s certainly a case to be made that he is, in some ways, not a very good person. On the other hand, we so need what he\u2019s offering in Washington that I think it outweighs it,\u201d said Cross, who described herself as a feminist. \u201cAnd part of me hates saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Tuesday morning, 61-year-old Heidi Byrd also wrestled <\/b>with her support for Platner. She went to a town hall of his in November, and her front door has boasted a \u201cGraham Platner for Senate\u201d poster ever since.<\/p>\n

Byrd, an independent voter, wondered whether any other candidate would have the same pull if the Democrats had to scramble for a new nominee with the November midterm only months away. Mainers had grown faithful to Platner, she thought, precisely because he was a fresh face and a political newcomer with big promises to challenge the Trump administration in Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I have blinders on, I don\u2019t know,\u201d Byrd said. \u201cSomeone\u2019s got to stand up to Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the allegation became public, Byrd has watched segments about it across the channels on her television. She has texted with friends in Maine <\/b>who are processing the news. She made plans to talk to her church\u2019s minister about her dilemma on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

All the while, she kept contemplating, the Platner poster still taped to her door.<\/p>

Read more As health rumors swirl, GOP leaders say they\u2019ve spoken with McConnell<\/a><\/p>\n

Joanna Slater contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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