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{"id":25460,"date":"2026-07-07T12:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T12:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/capitol-agenda-platners-hill-support-crumbles\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T12:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T12:02:14","slug":"capitol-agenda-platners-hill-support-crumbles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/capitol-agenda-platners-hill-support-crumbles\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitol agenda: Platner\u2019s Hill support crumbles"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Graham Platner\u2019s congressional fan club is ready to move on.<\/p>\n<p>The Maine oysterman\u2019s already scandal-ridden campaign was hit Monday by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/07\/06\/graham-platner-sexual-assault-allegation-00987737\" target=\"_blank\">new allegations reported by POLITICO<\/a> that he forced a woman he dated, Jenny Racicot, to have sex with him in 2021 \u2014 a claim Platner denies.<\/p>\n<p>Now a wave of Democrats <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/07\/06\/democrats-abandon-graham-platner-endorsements-support-00988421\" target=\"_blank\">across the ideological spectrum is calling<\/a> on the progressive to step aside while already circulating names to replace him. Those bailing include his \u2014 now former \u2014 staunchest defenders on Capitol Hill, along with party leaders who had warily gotten behind him after their preferred candidate, Gov. Janet Mills, suspended her campaign.<\/p>\n<p>The cascade of opposition spotlights a party deeply anxious about their path ahead in Maine, where unseating GOP Sen. Susan Collins is critical to Democrats\u2019 effort to win control of the chamber.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats can still replace Platner on the ballot, but only <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/newsletters\/weekly-score\/2026\/06\/08\/unpacking-establishment-dems-wishcasting-scenarios-to-avoid-being-stuck-with-platner-00953061\" target=\"_blank\">if he chooses to drop out<\/a> before the July 13 deadline outlined in Maine law. If he were to exit the race, the state Democratic Party would have to pick his replacement by July 27.<\/p>\n<p>That tight timeline would set up a scramble potentially pitting factions of the party against each other.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Ro Khanna, who joined Platner on the campaign trail several times, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RoKhanna\/status\/2074288378552455396?s=20\" target=\"_blank\">Monday night endorsed<\/a> a former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson, who had previously won the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders. Khanna said Jackson was \u201csomeone who has spent his life standing up for these progressive values.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sanders himself, who had backed Platner, has yet to comment publicly on the allegations.<\/p>\n<p>A progressive-aligned PAC also weighed in, calling for Maine\u2019s Democratic Party to honor primary voters\u2019 wishes and \u201cnot allow crusty insiders like Chuck Schumer an establishment do-over.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA small caucus of party insiders cannot be trusted to nominate the shake-up-the-system outsider this moment calls for,\u201d Progressive Change Campaign Committee co-founder Adam Green said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand called for Platner\u2019s immediate withdrawal, saying the DSCC \u201cwill not invest in the Maine Senate race\u201d if he remains on the ballot. Schumer had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/04\/30\/chuck-schumer-janet-mills-meltdown-2026-00902217\" target=\"_blank\">previously backed Mills<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Martin Heinrich, previously two of Platner\u2019s biggest supporters, also joined in calling for him to step down, while Sen. Ruben Gallego, another former Platner fan, rescinded his endorsement.<\/p>\n<p>Apart from Jackson, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former public health official Nirav Shah <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/07\/06\/democrats-abandon-graham-platner-endorsements-support-00988421\" target=\"_blank\">are taking calls<\/a> about replacing Platner, according to three people familiar with those conversations, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive discussions.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for Platner did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the candidate\u2019s loss of lawmakers\u2019 support.<\/p>\n<p>Platner has not said that he would suspend his campaign. In a video statement posted minutes after Blue Light News\u2019s report, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/07\/06\/graham-platner-time-to-reflect-allegations-00987897\" target=\"_blank\">Platner said<\/a> he is \u201ctaking the time to reflect on the best path forward\u201d for his candidacy.<\/p>\n<p><b><i>What else we\u2019re watching:\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>\u2014 MEET THE NEXT LIKELY CBC CHAIR: <\/b>Rep. Troy Carter has a front row seat to Republican redistricting in Louisiana, is a self-proclaimed \u201cclose ally\u201d of potential speaker Hakeem Jeffries and is currently the Congressional Black Caucus\u2019 vice chair. CBC members say that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/07\/07\/troy-carter-congressional-black-caucus-00988450\" target=\"_blank\"><u>makes him their ideal next leader.<\/u><\/a> Several members, including Chair <b>Yvette Clarke<\/b> and No. 3<b>\u00a0Lucy McBath<\/b>, said in interviews they view Carter as a strong \u2014 if not singular \u2014 contender to chair the caucus next term.<\/p>\n<p><b>\u2014 HILL STAFFER GROUP DEMANDS MISCONDUCT ACCOUNTABILITY:<\/b> A 1,500-strong group of Capitol Hill staff members <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/f\/?id=0000019f-3a4f-de44-a79f-7bff8d2a0000\" target=\"_blank\">is calling on congressional panels<\/a> to take steps to better hold accountable denizens of the campus accused of misconduct. The Congressional Progressive Staff Association is asking House Administration and Senate Rules and Administration to enact a series of recommendations after two House members \u2014 Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales \u2014 became the latest lawmakers to resign over sexual misconduct accusations against them.<\/p>\n<p><i>Riley Rogerson and Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Graham Platner\u2019s congressional fan club is ready to move on. The Maine oysterman\u2019s already scandal-ridden campaign was hit Monday by new allegations reported by Blue Light News that he forced a woman he dated, Jenny Racicot, to have sex with him in 2021 \u2014 a claim Platner denies. Now a wave of Democrats across the ideological spectrum [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25460\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}