Bernie Sanders calls on Graham Platner to withdraw amid sexual assault claims

Sanders, one of Platner’s earliest and most influential backers, is latest to call on him to withdraw from Maine race

The progressive senator Bernie Sanders called on Graham Platner to withdraw from the US Senate race in Maine, citing “very serious allegations” of sexual assault, hours before the embattled nominee faced another claim of sexual misconduct.

While Platner has denied the new allegations, reported by Politico, and later by the Washington Post, the initial report prompted a wave of prominent Democrats to urge him to stand aside as the party’s nominee in the consequential Senate contest.

Platner has said he is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward” in the wake of the stories.

Sanders, one of his earliest and most influential supporters, was among the latest to call on him to withdraw on Tuesday.

“I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine ,” Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, said in a statement on Tuesday. “In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”

Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s mayor and another high-profile figure on the progressive wing of the Democratic party, also encouraged Platner to suspend his campaign, calling it the “only appropriate response”. “I believe that it’s time for him to drop out of the race,” Mamdani told reporters.

In the Politico report, published on Monday, Jenny Racicot, 41, who previously dated Platner, said he forced her to have sex despite repeated objections. Racicot said the incident, which she described to CNN as rape , happened five years ago while Platner was heavily intoxicated. Platner has denied the allegations.

Institutional support collapsed rapidly. Chuck Schumer, the US Senate minority leader, and Kirsten Gillibrand, who chairs the party’s Senate campaign arm, called for Platner’s withdrawal and said the committee would not fund his campaign if he stayed on the ballot.

Maine’s state party leadership has also urged him to step down. Senator Elizabeth Warren, previously a vocal backer, asked him to withdraw, while Ruben Gallego and Ro Khanna, the senator and representative who had both campaigned with Platner, also rescinded their endorsements.

Later on Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that an ex‑girlfriend alleged that Platner removed condoms without her consent during sex on at least six occasions.

Lyndsey Fifield told the Post that she repeatedly warned Platner he needed to use condoms because she was not on birth control, but alleges the scandal‑ridden candidate would “pull condoms off”. “He would do it in a sneaky way,” she said in an interview. “He wouldn’t tell me.”

Platner’s campaign denied the latest allegations to the Post and pointed to Fifield’s work in Republican politics to discredit her, calling the claims “categorically false and politically motivated”. Contacted by the Guardian for comment, the campaign did not immediately respond.

The Post reported that Fifield first disclosed the alleged condom removal during an off‑the‑record interview on 20 June. She said she chose to speak publicly on Tuesday in part because she wanted to show that Racicot was not alone in raising concerns about Platner and sexual consent.

Fifield had previously accused Platner of multiple physical altercations – including grabbing her by the shoulders, yanking her out of a taxi by the wrist and twisting her arm behind her back during an argument – in an interview with the New York Times. Platner has denied the accusations outlined by the Times.

Platner, 41, entered the race last August virtually unknown: a Marine Corps combat veteran turned Maine oyster farmer whose viral, anti-establishment campaign overtook state governor Janet Mills – the party establishment’s preferred candidate – before she withdrew.

Despite a drumbeat of scandal, he won the primary by the largest margin in state history , boosting Democrats’ hopes of flipping the US Senate seat , currently held by the five‑term Republican Susan Collins.

In order for Democrats to finalize an alternative Senate nominee in Maine, Platner needs to end his campaign by Monday 13 July at 5pm ET, according to state law. This would grant Democrats a two-week window – until 5pm ET on Monday 27 July – to pick a replacement to be on the ballot for November’s general election.