Democratic Concerns Over Senate Nominee Graham Platner

Representative Ro Khanna has expressed belief in the account of a woman accusing Graham Platner of physically threatening behavior and implored his campaign to avoid criticizing her.

On Sunday, several congressional Democrats raised new concerns regarding Graham Platner, the presumed Senate candidate for Maine. Others continued to support his candidacy, despite reports from multiple women describing toxic relationships with him.

This weekend’s reactions, aired on Sunday morning news shows and circulated on social media, indicate a party grappling with Mr. Platner’s campaign amid Tuesday’s primary election. Representative Ro Khanna of California, one of Platner’s ardent supporters, acknowledged believing the allegations of a woman accusing Platner of threatening behavior and advised Platner’s campaign not to disparage these claims.

An article published by The New York Times mentioned three women who dated Mr. Platner, claiming that he exhibited volatility and degrading behavior towards women. These revelations follow previous reports on May 30 about Platner exchanging sexual messages with women outside his marriage as recently as last year.

Senator Mark Warner from Virginia, a centrist Democrat, labeled the accusations as “beyond disturbing” during his appearance on Fox News. He emphasized that determining the truth behind these allegations should be left to Maine’s voters, stating, “If these allegations are true, they’re very troubling. But I don’t know if they are true or not. I think, frankly, the people in Maine ought to decide that.”

The campaign of Mr. Platner has countered claims of physical intimidation, disputing any allegations of altercations. Platner, a Marine Corps veteran with a history of deployment in Iraq, candidly shared his challenges with PTSD, noting that he “self-medicated with alcohol and was a far from perfect boyfriend” during a “very dark period” before experiencing a “transformation.” He characterized reports of sending sexual messages as diversions from the key issues prioritizing voters.