Faulty reasoning signals

• Negativity Bias - 48.1%
• Availability Heuristic - 29%
• Appeal to Authority - 27.6%

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Craig Platner is facing growing calls to drop out of the US Senate race in Maine. This follows a new accusation of sexual assault. In an interview with Politico, a woman said the Senate candidate entered her home without permission back in 2021 while drunk and forced himself on her. She expanded on the allegations during an appearance on CNN yesterday and we've got to give you a warning here. What you're about to hear is disturbing. >> Did Craig Platner rape you? >> By definition, yes. Absolutely.

>> Because he had non-consensual sex with you. >> Yeah. >> Forced himself on you. >> Mhm. >> Even after you had told him no and fought him off. >> Yeah. He violated multiple layers of consent that night by coming into my home when I asked him not to and by advancing on me when I told him not to and and furthermore, another incident that I had told him not to do and >> With protection? >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Now, Platner has denied this accusation calling it categorically false and in response to these claims, several

Democrats are urging Platner to end his bid for the US Senate. And this includes Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand and Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ruben Gallego as well as Congressman Ro Khanna who previously campaigned with Platner. A real collapse of support. Let's bring in CBS News Political Director Fin Gomez to discuss this. Fin, good morning. Already Platner was grappling with a

string of controversies since launching his campaign last year. So, why are Democratic leaders pulling support now? >> Yeah, good morning, Errol. The difference is the nature of this latest allegation. No sugarcoating this. This is bad. Earlier troubling allegations involved his past behavior and relationships, but this is the first time he's facing a direct allegation of sexual assault, which he categorically denies. But within hours, top Democrats, like you mentioned, including Democratic

leaders like Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, and the head of the Democratic Party concluded the situation had fundamentally changed here. Even his early backers, like Congressman Ro Khanna, who campaigned with him recently, and Senators Ruben Gallego and Elizabeth Warren have dropped their support, Errol. All now essentially saying they no longer believe the progressive candidate can beat incumbent Senator Susan Collins. And even the Democratic Senate campaign arm says it won't invest in the race if Platypus

remains the nominee, which drains the fuel from his campaign's engine. Though one of his top backers, Bernie Sanders, has yet to weigh in, but the writing is on the wall here, Errol. >> And Finn, there was a belief or suspicion that something was up cuz Platypus canceled or postponed a lot of his events this week. I know you and your team had seen that and were looking into it over the weekend. How now is Platypus responding to this latest accusation? How, if at all, does he intend to fight back?

>> That's right, Errol. We did hear that there were possibly some new allegations coming, and they did. But Platypus is forcefully forcefully denying the allegation, calling it, quote, "categorically false," and issued a campaign video soon after the most recent allegations. Take a take a listen here. >> Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false. Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of political reality will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path

forward. >> I think what stands out in his response is that he also acknowledged, Errol, what he called the political realities surrounding the accusation. He says he's taking time to quote to reflect and to see what the best path forward is. He hasn't said he's dropping out, but he's also stopped short of saying he's going to stay in the race. And that's fueling speculation because Maine law gives Democrats only until July 13th for Platter to withdraw if they want to replace him on the general

election ballot. Errol. >> So Finn, that means six days for Democrats to make a big decision. This is a key Senate seat that Democrats hope to flip from Republican. >> If he drops out, Errol. Yeah, that's >> That's if he drops out. Very good coverage out there, but this the bigger picture Finn is that this seat is key to Democrats' hopes of getting a majority in the Senate. So if he does drop out, what happens next here in the in the next week? >> Yeah, if Platter withdraws by the state's July 13th deadline, Maine

Democrats can choose a replacement nominee through the party process rather than holding another primary. They would have up until July 27th to make that replacement, and then that replacement would would face, of course, Senator Susan Collins, a pretty formidable candidate in November. And remember, why does this Maine seat matter so much, Errol? Democrats view Maine as one of their best pick-up opportunities as they try to regain control of the Senate. So party leaders are trying to preserve

what they see as a as a competitive race before that window shuts. Maine is a must-win state for them. Errol. >> All right, Finn Gomez, we'll stay close to your reporting this week. Thank you very much.