Pressure Mounts on Senate Candidate Amid Rape Allegation

WHO:

WTNH - Gov. Ned Lamont, the Governor of Connecticut, is calling on Graham Platner to drop out of the race for U.S. Senate.

NBC News - Graham Platner, Democratic Senate nominee from Maine

NY Post - Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, New York Democrats, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC)

WHAT:

WTNH - A woman, who had previously dated Platner, accused him of raping her after he drunkenly forced her to have sex.

NBC News - Graham Platner is denying a rape allegation and is reassessing his campaign.

NY Post - Schumer and Gillibrand called for Graham Platner to “immediately withdraw” from the Maine Senate race following the rape allegation.

Salon - The sexual assault allegations against Graham Platner are described as credible and potentially fatal to his candidacy.

WHERE:

NY Post - Maine

WHY:

WTNH - Gov. Lamont's call for Platner to withdraw follows the serious nature of the allegations against him.

NY Post - The statement from Schumer and Gillibrand emphasized that “violence, abuse and sexual assault are absolutely unacceptable.”

HOW:

NBC News - Platner is reassessing his campaign in light of the allegations.

(UPDATED July 7, 2026 04:19 UTC)

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont is urging Graham Platner to step down from the race for U.S. Senate following serious allegations made against him. A woman, who previously dated Platner, has accused him of raping her after he drunkenly forced her to have sex. Governor Lamont's request comes in light of the gravity of these accusations.

--

(UPDATED July 7, 2026 01:36 UTC)

Graham Platner, the Democratic Senate nominee from Maine, is denying a rape allegation and is currently reassessing his campaign. In response to the allegations, New York Democrats Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have called for Platner to "immediately withdraw" from the race, emphasizing that “violence, abuse and sexual assault are absolutely unacceptable.” The sexual assault allegations have been described as credible and could be potentially fatal to Platner's candidacy.