Environmental groups, a prominent part of Maine Democrat Graham Platner’s base, are withdrawing their endorsement for his Senate run following sexual assault allegations.
Also abandoning Platner are top lawmakers working on energy and environment issues like Sens. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.
Platner, an oyster farmer and progressive, won a Democratic primary to take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins in one of the most watched races of the year. But Platner is now considering whether to pursue his candidacy following POLITICO’s reporting of new allegations against him.
“It is critical that he step down so that the Maine Democratic Party can swiftly replace him on the ballot with someone who can win back voters’ trust, hold polluting and greedy corporations accountable, and protect the air, water and land that are vital to Mainers’ way of life and economy,” Sara Chieffo, senior vice president of government affairs at the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, said in a statement.
POLITICO on Monday reported that a woman Platner dated said he forced her to have sex with him. Platner has denied the allegations but is mulling how to proceed.
“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward,” Platner said.
Sarah Burton, the Sierra Club’s political director, said, “Victims of sexual violence must be listened to and provided our caring and support. Their lives are not for political gamesmanship.”
RL Miller, founder of the group Climate Hawks Vote, said on social media that the alleged actions are “unacceptable” and that the organization is pulling its endorsement.
Friends of the Earth Action endorsed Platner in May ahead of the primary. The group won’t be endorsing him in the general election,” said spokesperson Lindsay Tice.
Food & Water Action — affiliated with Food & Water Watch, which has been lobbying for a nationwide data center moratorium — also no longer supports Platner, said spokesperson Sam Bernhardt.
Heinrich, top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, was one of Platner’s earliest supporters in Congress, endorsing him in October. Heinrich on Monday evening called on Platner to “step aside.”
“The allegations reported today are appalling. If accurate, they reveal conduct that is completely unacceptable and incompatible with the integrity we should demand from those seeking public office,” Heinrich wrote on the social media site X.
Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, said, “The allegations against Graham Platner in the Politico story are extremely serious and I am withdrawing my support.”
Platner in May released an energy platform that included a fuel tax holiday, a fund for clean energy projects and a national freeze on electricity rate increases.
If he withdraws from the race by July 13, the Maine Democratic Party can replace him on the ballot with another candidate. Potential replacements include former gubernatorial candidates Troy Jackson, Shenna Bellows and Nirav Shah.
Dan Kleban, the owner of Maine Beer Co. who briefly ran in the primary last year on an environment- and climate-change-focused platform, could also seek the nomination.
He has been getting calls from supporters encouraging him and is thinking about whether to seek the position again, said a person close to him who was granted anonymity to discuss the internal deliberations.
Kleban called the Platner allegations “horrifying and completely disqualifying” in an X post and said Mainers “deserve a Senator who will fight for them against the DC establishment while also doing what’s right.”
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
