Republicans are leveraging the collapse of Graham Platner's Senate campaign in Maine to attack Democratic candidates in key midterm races, accusing them of endorsing or staying silent on a candidate now facing allegations of sexual assault and past extremist behavior. Platner, a Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer who had been backed by national progressives, suspended his campaign Wednesday night after a series of scandals, including a rape allegation from a former girlfriend, revelations of a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, and past inflammatory online comments.
Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters charged that Democrats who supported Platner are now "completely stained by their association with this sick monster." The GOP is targeting candidates in Maine and New Hampshire, states where control of Congress could be decided in November. Platner had been challenging longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a high-profile race that is one of several that will determine whether the GOP holds its slim Senate majority.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) quickly took aim at Matt Dunlap, the Democratic nominee in Maine's 2nd Congressional District, a rural district that President Donald Trump carried in the past three presidential elections. Dunlap endorsed Platner and appeared with him at a campaign event days before Maine's June 9 primary. "Out of touch freak Matt Dunlap might be okay with Nazi lovers and men who abuse women, but in November, he'll see for himself that Mainers aren't," NRCC Spokeswoman Maureen O'Toole said.
In New Hampshire, the NRCC targeted Stefany Shaheen, the polling front-runner in the September primary in the state's 1st Congressional District, another competitive swing seat. Shaheen never endorsed Platner but did not explicitly condemn him until Monday, when she called the allegations "extremely disturbing" and said Platner should drop out. The Shaheen campaign accused Republicans of hypocrisy, pointing to President Donald Trump's history of sexual misconduct allegations. "Stefany Shaheen called for Graham Platner to drop out. Republican hacks are total hypocrites still excusing Donald Trump even after he was forced to pay millions in damages to a woman he sexually abused," Shaheen campaign manager Emma Greenberg said.
Platner's campaign had been on the defensive even before the rape allegation emerged. Past inflammatory comments on a now-deleted Reddit account, a covered-up tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, and reports of sexually explicit messages with women while married had already damaged his standing. He dismissed the allegations as false, saying in his suspension video that "the things that have been claimed did not happen." But the mounting controversies prompted a wave of calls from top Democrats for him to drop out, including from Sen. Bernie Sanders, who had endorsed him.
The general election in New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District will succeed four-term Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who is running for the Senate. Former GOP Sen. John E. Sununu, the Republican front-runner in that race, criticized Pappas over what he called the "failures of Chris Pappas when it comes to Graham Platner." The GOP is also targeting other Democrats who endorsed or defended Platner, arguing that their association with him will hurt them at the polls.
Platner's exit leaves a void in the Maine Senate race, with Democrats scrambling to find a replacement candidate. The race against Sen. Collins, a moderate Republican, was seen as one of the party's best pickup opportunities. But the scandals have turned the race into a liability, with Republicans now using Platner's baggage to paint Democrats as out of touch with voters. The midterm elections, which will determine control of both chambers of Congress, are less than five months away, and the fallout from Platner's campaign is likely to reverberate in key battlegrounds.
