Current Affairs Of Pakistan & World: Platner teeters on collapse

Platner teeters on collapse

Jul 07, 2026

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THE CATCH-UP

Graham Platner speaks.

Maine Senate Democratic nominee Graham Platner speaking during a primary night watch party Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Blue Hill, Maine. | Robert F. Bukaty/AP

Democrats were counting on Graham Platner’s campaign to carve a new path for the party in the midterms, helping flip the Senate and lead them out of the wilderness and into the future.

Instead, Platner’s candidacy has pushed Democrats toward chaos, confusion and disappointment.

The Maine oyster farmer’s Senate bid is teetering on collapse after nearly all of his allies withdrew support and called for him to drop out following POLITICO’s exclusive reporting on allegations of sexual assault from a woman who dated Platner who said he forced her to have sex with him.

Platner called the allegations “troubling” and “serious,” but firmly denied them, while acknowledging he’s taking time to evaluate his candidacy amid a new “political reality.”

Platner’s insurgent campaign to oust longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins has been marred by scandal since the beginning, forcing him to explain and apologize for a litany of indiscretions including a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol (for which he expressed regret and covered up), a series of offensive online posts (for which he expressed regret and sought to explain), relationship infidelity and a NYT report in which several women who dated him said he exhibited “unsettling” behavior (for which Platner said he was “far from perfect boyfriend” during a “very dark period of my life.”).

One of those women, Jenny Racicot, told the Times Platner came to her home drunk and unannounced and acted “reckless.” She later told POLITICO he forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop.

Democrats largely stood by Platner amid that stretch of scandals. But in the hours since POLITICO reported Racicot’s allegations, a cascade of elected Democrats — from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a longtime skeptic, to NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, with whom Platner shares a key political adviser — have called for him to back out of the race.

Today, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) — who ardently supported Platner in the wake of his past scandals — said he called him and told him to “step aside.”

The path for Platner to press on appears all but closed. The DSCC said it would not spend any money in Maine as long as Platner’s in the race — a critical contest for the party’s hopes of retaking the Senate. His campaign hasn’t commented since he posted a direct-to-camera video yesterday addressing the allegations, but it stopped running ads on Facebook and Instagram, per the NYT.

The question now is who might replace him. The Maine Democratic Party can install a new candidate if Platner drops out before Monday and must select that person by July 27. And the jockeying has already begun, particularly among the gubernatorial candidates who lost the state’s Democratic primary last month, POLITICO’s Andrew Howard and colleagues report from Brunswick.

Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson filed paperwork exploring a run to replace him this morning. Nirav Shah said he was “evaluating” a bid. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who also ran for governor, has been fielding calls. So have former Senate candidates Dan Kleban and Jordan Wood, according to people familiar with their private conversations. Spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

But publicly, the crop of could-be candidates aren’t saying much — yet. “I’m not prepared to talk right now,” Maine state Rep. Valli Geiger, a progressive Platner ally, told POLITICO when reached by phone this morning.

Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at isentner@politico.com.

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8 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. PROOF OF LIFE: “Senate GOP leaders say they’ve spoken with Mitch McConnell,” by POLITICO’s Jordain Carney: “Disclosure of the calls — with [Senate Majority Leader John] Thune on Monday and [Majority Whip John] Barrasso on Tuesday — comes amid rampant speculation from conservative influencers online about McConnell’s health and little detail from the Kentucky Republican’s own office about the reason for his hospitalization or his condition. A Thune spokesperson said he and McConnell “had a lengthy and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security,” and a Barrasso spokesperson said the two talked for about 20 minutes.

2. WE CAN’T BE FRIENDS: Trump lashed out at NATO allies today during the summit in Ankara, Turkey, rehashing grievances over what he claims is the alliance’s unfair treatment of the U.S. and spoiling hopes the confab would bring unity, POLITICO’s Felicia Schwartz and Megan Messerly report from the Turkish capital. Despite European leaders’ best efforts to avoid a Trump blowup, the president bashed NATO for its unwillingness to help the U.S. and Israel in their war with Iran, re-upped his desire to take Greenland and slammed European immigration and energy policies.

But Trump took a different posture toward Turkey. He offered praise for the host nation, whose President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan he feels a kinship with, lauding the country and suggesting he may soon authorize Ankara to once again purchase advanced stealth fighter jets from the U.S. Speaking alongside Erdoğan at the start of a whirlwind 48 hours at the summit, Trump said he “was very disappointed with NATO” and again ripped the alliance for not acknowledging American largesse.

3. WELL-OILED MACHINE: “‘Can you help us?’: US oil execs turn to Trump to topple Europe’s climate rules,” by POLITICO’s Zack Colman and colleagues: “At stake is potentially billions of dollars in natural gas that U.S. companies want to continue exporting to Europe but that EU policymakers say must be subject to strict rules governing emissions of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas that has fueled extreme weather around the globe. And it raises worries among climate advocates that the Americans are choking out what the EU intended to be a major initiative to combat climate change, one that had been years in the making.”

4. SINKING ISRAEL SUPPORT: U.S. support for Israel is slipping even further, driven by massive erosion among Democrats and signs of fracture from Republicans, according to a new AP-NORC poll. About a third of American adults — and about half of Democrats — say Israel has committed a “genocide” in Gaza, and only about 20 percent of Americans said it had not, while the rest did not know. Thirty percent of Jewish adults said Israel had committed a genocide, while 49 percent said it had not. Responses were split along partisan lines: 58 percent of Democrats said the U.S. was too supportive of Israelis and 62 percent said it was not supportive enough of Palestinians, compared to 21 and 13 percent of Republicans, respectively.

5. THE BOYS ARE FIGHTING: Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) got into such a big fight over the weekend in the Netherlands that Wicker threatened to kick Wilson off of the official CODEL flight home, Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller reports. The disagreement was over catering — which Wicker said was too limited and expensive in Charleston to host an international gathering that Wilson had lobbied for years. In leaked texts, Wicker told Wilson “stop embarrassing yourself” and “YOU ARE NO LONGER PART OF CODEL,” adding “PLEASE MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO RETURN TO THE UNITED BY OTHER MEANS.” He later reversed that statement “With apologies.”

6. CASH CRUNCH: The redistricting wars have had an unintended consequence for Democrats: Fewer incumbents are paying dues to the DCCC, NOTUS’ Kadia Goba and Oriana González report. That’s because the vulnerable “Frontliners” — the number of which has increased as Republicans race to remove majority-Black districts — are exempt from paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in dues to the party’s House campaign arm.

7. COMING ATTRACTIONS: Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan will testify on the Hill next week, marking the first time since 2019 that members of the high court will testify on their annual budget request to Congress, POLITICO’s Jordain Carney and Katherine Tully-McManus report. The pair will appear July 14 before a House Appropriations subpanel that has jurisdiction over the annual spending measure that funds the Supreme Court, according to a scheduling announcement from House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.).

8. BY-BY-BY: Nigel Farage, the leader of the British Reform UK party, resigned from Parliament today to force a by-election, POLITICO’s Noah Keate and Isabel Loubser report from London. Farage said he plans to stand as a candidate in that election in a gamble to underscore his level of support amid an investigation into his failure to declare a £5 million donation from a crypto billionaire.

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TALK OF THE TOWN

POLITICO MOVE — Chris Marquette is joining POLITICO’s Congress team to cover the Oversight, Judiciary and Ethics Committees. He previously covered transportation.

TRANSITIONS — Former Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) has been named managing director of government affairs at Echo Canyon Consulting. He will be based in the firm’s Phoenix office and spearhead state and federal government relations strategies. … Dallas Woodrum has rejoined Akin as an international trade partner in Washington. He most recently was assistant director for regulatory affairs at Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, and previously worked in OFAC’s Enforcement Division. … Katherine Scarlett is joining CGCN Group as a partner. She most recently chaired the White House Council on Environmental Quality. …

… Brian McGrail is now senior policy counsel at Encode AI. He most recently worked at the Center for AI Safety Action Fund. … Jesse Rothman is now policy adviser at Encode AI. He previously worked at the Council on Criminal Justice. … Justin Discigil is now a director of public affairs at Bristol Myers Squibb. He previously worked at Ascent Media, and is a Dan Crenshaw and House Energy & Commerce alum.

WEDDING — Margaret Mulkerrin, chief of staff to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), and Feargal Gilmore, regional sales director for Kia Finance America, got married at The Beach Club in Barnstable, Massachusetts, on June 27. The wedding, officiated by Matthew Heyd, Episcopal bishop of New York, featured a Pittsburgh cookie table in homage to the groom’s alma mater, Hoyer on the dance floor and a surprise plane banner message with best wishes for the couple. They met in 2020 and had their first date at Shaw’s Tavern. Pic … Another pic, via Organic Photography

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