Graham Platner Denies Sexual Assault Allegation, But Says He Is “Taking Time To Reflect On Best Path Forward”
A woman who dated Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner five years ago is accusing him of sexual assault, telling Politico that she can produce records that she told people about it before he was considered as a political candidate. Platner denied the allegations, but said he is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.” Maine’s state laws give the Democratic Party until July 13 to swap him out in the race against Sen. Susan Collins. “Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins,” Platner said.
GRAHAM PLATNER: I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me. Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false. Over the last 10 months, I have been deeply humbled by the faith Mainers have put in me. You have welcomed me into your homes, into your places of work, into your restaurants, into your houses of worship. You have shown that a different kind of politics, one that puts the interests of people over corporations, is not just possible, but is inevitable. This movement we have built – the largest volunteer base in the history of Maine politics, the hundreds of thousands of grassroots donors and the supporters across the ideological spectrum – we were united in a love of Maine, a belief that our politics must change, and a focus on defeating Susan Collins. So regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins. Those were the goals when we launched this campaign, and they remain my goals today. On June 9th, 154,058 Mainers, the most in primary history, voted to reject a broken politics beholden to Washington and the donor class. They voted for hope, for change, to take back our economy, to take back our power, and to take back our Senate seat. Throughout it all, you never turned your back on me, and I will not turn my back on you now. Every one of you deserves to see that vision come to fruition and see Susan Collins defeated, and we will use every tool at our disposal to do so. As Maine goes, so goes the nation. As always, thank you.
