Congress
GOP rips Platner on the way out
Republicans were quick to condemn Graham Platner after he suspended his campaign, seeking to tie Democrats to his failed candidacy.
Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters said that “Democrats rolled in the mud with Platner, and now they are completely stained by their association with this sick monster.”
Alex Latcham, executive director of the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with GOP leadership, said that “at the 11th hour, the Democrat Establishment has tipped the scales against Maine voters in an attempt to salvage their failing midterm strategy.”
National Republican Senatorial Committee regional press secretary Samantha Cantrell added that “regardless of who [Democrats] anoint next, Susan Collins will be re-elected in November.”
Collins is the only Republican seeking reelection this cycle in a state won by former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, making Maine one of Republicans’ top defensive states as they seek to retain control of the Senate.
We break down how Graham Platner’s momentous campaign crumbled in the days after POLITICO’s report of a new sexual assault allegation against him.
Republicans may be publicly using Graham Platner’s exit from Maine’s Senate race to ratchet up their attacks on Democrats, but behind the scenes, his withdrawal is hardly being viewed as good news for Sen. Susan Collins’ reelection campaign.
According to a person familiar with the campaign’s thinking, granted anonymity to discuss it, Collins’ team had long viewed Platner as a uniquely vulnerable opponent whose personal controversies could help offset one of the biggest challenges she faces in 2026: running as a blue-state Republican in the Trump era.
“She can certainly win, but they didn’t want to change candidates,” the person familiar with the campaign’s thinking said. “The stuff we already knew about Platner was going to propel Collins to overcome the Trump anchor. Now it’s going to be a Democrat with a cleaner record, presumably.”
Collins’ campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, and it has not weighed in publicly since Platner announced the suspension of his campaign.
From the Collins campaign’s perspective, Platner offered an unusually favorable contrast.
They believed his baggage would have given Collins an opportunity to shift voters’ attention away from national politics and toward questions about his character.
Instead, Maine Democrats now have the opportunity to nominate a candidate with a cleaner profile, raising the prospect of a more conventional general election in which Collins will have to confront the same challenges facing other Republican incumbents.
A flash poll conducted by Platner’s own campaign and obtained by POLITICO Wednesday bore this out: Platner trailed Collins in the poll, while three likely Democratic candidates who lost their gubernatorial primary last month led or were statistically tied with her.
The Collins campaign remains confident the senator can win another term, according to the person familiar with its thinking. But Platner’s withdrawal removes what allies viewed as one of Collins’ clearest advantages.
Cheyenne Hunt, a progressive Democratic lawyer whose nonprofit aims to fight misogyny, said she is relieved Graham Platner dropped out of the Maine Senate race.
“Today, I’m proud of my party for drawing a red line and putting our values above political outcomes,” Hunt said in a statement posted on X on Wednesday. “Now the hard work begins to put forth a candidate who can defeat Susan Collins and ensure we send a champion for women to the Senate this November.”
Hunt, the executive director of Reckoning Action, had connected Blue Light News with Jenny Racicot, who dated Platner and alleged that he forced her to have sex with him, which he has denied. Earlier this year, Hunt also was key to bringing forward sexual misconduct allegations against former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), prompting him to suspend his campaign for California governor. Swalwell denies the allegations.
Hunt endorsed Platner as leader of the group Gen Z for Change last fall but withdrew her support in June after three of Platner’s ex-girlfriends described what they called “reckless” and “unsettling” behavior from Platner to The New York Times.
In an interview with Blue Light News after Platner suspended his campaign, Hunt said she was “deeply disappointed in those around him that are continuing in this incredibly tumultuous and difficult moment for the party in the country to stand by his hubris and suggest that he has any kind of leverage in choosing who his successor is.”
- How we got here …
- Cheyenne Hunt: Democrats drew a ‘red line’ with Platner
- Collins’ allies think Platner’s exit makes her reelection bid tougher
- GOP rips Platner on the way out
- Top Democratic groups recommit to Maine Senate race after Platner drops out
- Dan Kleban jumps (back) into Maine Senate race
- Troy Jackson makes his Senate run official
- Graham Platner just dropped out. Here’s who could replace him.
- Fetterman: Platner seems ‘entitled’ to be part of talks to pick replacement
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