Faulty reasoning signals

• Confirmation Bias - 4.1% (74 hits)
• Anchoring Bias - 0%
• Availability Heuristic - 5.6% (100 hits)
• Representativeness Heuristic - 3.7% (66 hits)
• Hindsight Bias - 2.2% (39 hits)
• Overconfidence Bias - 1.2% (22 hits)
• Framing Effect - 2.8% (50 hits)
• Loss Aversion - 0%
• Status Quo Bias - 0.7% (13 hits)
• Sunk Cost Effect - 0%
• Optimism Bias - 2.9% (52 hits)
• Pessimism Bias - 2.5% (44 hits)

Article text

Graham Platner Rape Allegation Leaves Progressives Holding the Bag

For nearly a year, progressives cast Graham Platner as the future of the Democratic Party, a plainspoken oyster farmer and combat veteran who could do what establishment candidates could not: energize working-class voters and unseat Susan Collins, a five-term Republican incumbent in Maine.

On Monday, that project was left hanging by a thread after a woman told Politico and CNN that Platner sexually assaulted her in 2021 and that she "absolutely" considered it rape.

The allegation from Jenny Racicot, who said a heavily intoxicated Platner forced her to have sex with him after she told him not to come to her home, triggered an immediate collapse in Democratic support that had survived months of earlier controversies.

Platner denied the allegation in an email to Newsweek on Tuesday: "These allegations are troubling, serious, and false.

Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue."

A second woman came forward Tuesday with a separate allegation.

Lyndsey Fifield, who dated Platner from 2013 to 2015 in Washington, D.C., and had previously accused him of physical abuse in the earlier Times story, told The Washington Post that Platner repeatedly removed condoms during sex without her consent.

Fifield estimated the incidents occurred at least six times over their two-year relationship and said she repeatedly told Platner she was not on birth control.

"He would pull condoms off," she told The Post.

"He would do it in a sneaky way.

He wouldn't tell me."

Platner's campaign, in a response to The Washington Post, called the allegation "categorically false and politically motivated" and noted that Fifield had previously expressed support for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 confirmation battle over sexual assault allegations.

Top Democrats Abandon Platner

Representative Ro Khanna of California, Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona withdrew their endorsements within hours.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who chairs the party's Senate campaign arm, said Democrats would not spend money on the race unless Platner steps aside.

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who launched Platner's candidacy with his endorsement last August, said on Tuesday that he has now advised Platner to drop out of the Senate race.

“I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine,” Sanders said in a brief statement.

“In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”

The reversal also exposed a broader reckoning inside the party.

For months, progressives largely dismissed or downplayed a series of earlier revelations, including a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, Reddit posts in which Platner said sexual assault victims should take responsibility for their own safety, and allegations of volatile behavior from former girlfriends.

How Progressives Defended Platner Through Past Scandals

Monday's allegation was not the first test of Platner's support on the left.

Since launching his campaign last August with Sanders at his side, Platner had weathered a series of controversies that, under different circumstances, might have ended a Senate bid before it began.

In October, three senior campaign staffers resigned within weeks of one another.

Political director Genevieve McDonald cited Platner's Reddit history.

Campaign manager Kevin Brown and finance director Ronald Holmes soon followed, one citing his wife's pregnancy and the other differences over professional standards.

Around the same time, reporters uncovered years-old Reddit posts in which Platner asked why Black people "don't tip" and said sexual assault victims should "take some responsibility for themselves" by avoiding excessive drinking.

Platner apologized, attributing the posts to a difficult period after his military deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Days later, Platner's campaign disclosed that he had a tattoo resembling the Totenkopf, a skull-and-crossbones symbol associated with SS concentration camp guards.

Platner said he got the tattoo in Croatia in 2007 and did not learn its meaning until it surfaced during the campaign.

He later had it covered.

Pressed on the controversy, Sanders dismissed its significance.

"We are dealing with a collapsing health care system," he said.

"You're asking me about whether or not a guy should get a tattoo removed?

Sorry."

In June, The New York Times reported allegations of "unsettling behavior" from three women who had dated Platner.

One of them, Lyndsey Fifield, said he grabbed her by the shoulders and blocked her from leaving a bedroom during an argument years earlier.

Platner's campaign said Fifield was not credible, citing her work for Republican political groups.

The Wall Street Journal separately reported that Platner's wife, Amy Gertner, confronted him over sexually explicit text messages he sent to other women early in their marriage.

Despite the mounting allegations, Platner's most prominent progressive allies stood by him.

Khanna traveled to Maine to campaign alongside Platner the day after the Times story was published, saying Platner was "taking accountability" for his past and deserved a chance at redemption.

Sanders continued appearing with Platner at rallies through late June.

Warren, Gallego and Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico also maintained their endorsements.

Their support came as polling suggested that Platner remained a competitive general-election candidate.

A New York Times/Siena College poll conducted June 19-26 in partnership with the Portland Press Herald found Platner leading Collins by two points, 49 percent to 47 percent.

A Fox News poll conducted June 23-27 also found Platner leading Collins among women voters, 51 percent to 46 percent, even as 38 percent of respondents said they were "extremely concerned" about his judgment.

That support held through Platner's June 9 primary victory.

It unraveled Monday as top Democratic endorsers abandoned Platner.

By Tuesday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who had never endorsed him but whose senior aides helped run his campaign, said Platner should end his candidacy.

"I believe that it’s time for him to drop out of the race,” Mamdani told reporters at City Hall.

Democrats Have a History of Backing Troubled Candidates

The allegation comes just before a critical deadline under Maine election law.

Democrats can replace their nominee only if he withdraws by 5 p.m. on July 13.

The party would then have until July 27 to choose a replacement for the November ballot against Collins.

Platner's collapse also fits a broader pattern of Democratic vetting failures that predates this election cycle.

In 2019, Sanders endorsed Cenk Uygur, a former conservative commentator turned progressive media host, in a special election for a vacant California congressional seat.

Platner's collapse also fits a broader pattern of Democratic vetting failures that predates this election cycle.

In 2019, Sanders endorsed Cenk Uygur, a former conservative commentator turned progressive media host, in a special election for a vacant California congressional seat.

The endorsement lasted less than a day after local women's and LGBTQ+ groups objected to years-old homophobic and sexist remarks by Uygur.

Sanders withdrew his endorsement within 24 hours, and Khanna did the same.

In 2018, Sanders backed Andrew Gillum in Florida's Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Gillum won the nomination but was later indicted on federal fraud charges after leaving office.

Jim Kessler, executive vice president for policy at the center-left think tank Third Way, told Newsweek that Platner's implosion reflects a broader Democratic problem ahead of the midterms: nominating candidates whose vulnerabilities extend beyond ideology.

"Democrats have fallen into the trap of nominating extreme candidates in certain races, like Platner in Maine," Kessler said.

He pointed to a wave of Democratic Socialists of America-backed primary victories in safe House districts as evidence that more self-described socialists are likely to join Congress regardless of how the Maine race ends.

Other analysts cautioned against treating Platner's collapse as a broader rejection of the party's progressive wing.

Grant Davis Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University, told Newsweek that Platner's personal baggage, rather than his politics, has cost him support.

"There is still a distinctive Maine culture that he no longer embodies," Reeher said.

For Democrats trying to flip the Senate seat Collins has held for nearly three decades, the timing could hardly be worse.

Dan Shea, a political science professor at Colby College, told Newsweek that replacing Platner would give Democrats their best chance to win.

"I think another candidate would likely have a better chance to beat Senator Collins than Platner, even without this new scandal," Shea said.

A Wedgewood poll conducted July 4-6 found former state Senate President Troy Jackson, a logger from Allagash who ran a progressive campaign for governor this year, leading Collins by five points, 48 percent to 43 percent.

Platner trailed Collins by four points.

Jackson has said he believes he is "the best person" to replace Platner if he withdraws.

What Is the Graham Platner Rape Allegation?

Jenny Racicot, a 41-year-old Maine resident, told Politico in a story published Monday that Platner entered her home uninvited in late 2021 while heavily intoxicated and forced her to have sex despite her repeated objections.

Racicot said she and Platner had been in an on-and-off relationship since meeting on the dating app Bumble in 2019.

She said she texted him that night telling him not to come over, but he arrived about 30 minutes later and let himself into her home.

"I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me," Racicot told Politico.

"I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, 'This is no longer my choice.'"

Racicot said she stopped physically resisting after realizing how intoxicated Platner was and deciding that continuing to resist could put her at greater risk.

She said an antique sewing kit was knocked over during a brief struggle before she complied.

She also said that Platner did not use protection despite her objection, and that he told her the next morning he did not remember what had happened.

Racicot expanded on her account later Monday in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper.

Asked whether she considered the incident rape, she replied, "By definition?

Yes, absolutely."

She said Platner violated her consent by entering her home after she told him not to come over and by continuing his advances after she objected.

In a video posted to social media, Platner acknowledged the political fallout without directly addressing Racicot's account.

He said he and his campaign were "taking the time to reflect on the best path forward" despite what he described as the "inaccuracy of the reporting."

Racicot had previously been quoted anonymously in a New York Times story last month describing Platner's behavior as "reckless."

She said she withheld the assault allegation at the time to protect her privacy.

She told Politico she decided to come forward because she felt another woman's account in that story had been overshadowed by questions about political motivation.

*Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Sam Wilson.

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