(Photo Illustration by Bill Kuchman/The Bulwark | Photos: Getty)
POLITICO REPORTED ON MONDAY AFTERNOON that Graham Platner’s ex-girlfriend said he “forced her to have sex with him nearly five years ago despite her repeated objections.” Immediately after the story was published, Platner, the Democratic nominee in the race for Maine’s Senate seat, posted an uncomfortable video denying the allegations without making clear whether he would drop out of the race.
He should, and not just on moral grounds. Because before this story was published, Maine voters in our focus groups told us that they would likely abandon Platner over this exact type of scandal.
Back on June 3, we held one such focus group with Maine women who had voted for Kamala Harris in 2024. This group was convened six days before Platner clinched the nomination, and one day before the New York Times’s initial exposé on Platner, in which numerous former girlfriends called him “toxic,” “unsettling,” and “physically threatening.”
There had already been months of talk about Platner’s bad behavior at this point, including about his Nazi tattoo. But many in the group were still planning on supporting him. So we asked them what would make them change their vote.
The answer:...
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