Khanna and Gallego pull Platner endorsements

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) withdrew their endorsements of Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner after a new set of sexual assault allegations were revealed.

Khanna and Gallego rescinded their endorsements just hours after a Politico report detailing allegations from a woman who previously dated Platner said he sexually assaulted her while severely intoxicated five years ago.

“I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line,” Khanna posted on X. “These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.”

In a series of interviews with Politico released Monday, Jenny Racicot, 41, said she and Platner had an on-and-off relationship for two years until Platner drunkenly entered her home and forced himself onto her. Platner denied the allegations.

The Maine Democratic Party echoed Khanna’s statement and called on Platner to withdraw as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine, emphasizing their support for the women and survivors who spoke out against Platner.

“Over the past several weeks, multiple women have made serious, credible allegations against Graham Platner. Today’s statements take those allegations even further,” Maine Democratic Party leadership wrote in a statement. “Maine Democratic Party leadership is calling on Graham Platner to withdraw as the Democratic nominee for U.S. senate.”

Platner hasn’t withdrawn, but he posted a video 11 minutes after the Politico story was released saying he was taking time to “reflect” on his campaign’s “best path forward.”

“We are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins,” Platner said in the video.

Gallego said the allegations were “deeply serious.”

“The allegations against Graham Platner are troubling and deeply serious,” Gallego posted on X. “I am rescinding my endorsement.”

The Politico article comes after reports that Platner canceled three campaign events without any explanation.

Until Monday afternoon, Khanna had stood firm in his endorsement of Platner despite the slew of scandals that have come out against the Maine Democrat in recent months.

Khanna joined Platner at a campaign rally in June, two days after the New York Times reported that he sent sexual messages to women who were not his wife and published allegations that three women who previously dated Platner came forward with allegations of emotional abuse.

Platner also pushed back on those allegations, calling the New York Times reporting “politically motivated.”

“There are some allegations in this piece that I just want to be kind of unequivocal about, are simply not true,” Platner said on MS NOW in June. “Anything alleging physicality, anything alleging that I knew what my tattoo was, these are the statements of someone who’s politically motivated.”

In an interview following that report, Khanna condemned Platner’s actions but maintained his support for the Maine senate hopeful.

“I want to be clear: His actions were misogynistic, they were shameful, they were wrong, but they didn’t come as a surprise to a lot of the folks in Maine,” Khanna said on CBS News’s Face the Nation.

“People in Maine knew that he had had two tours of duty in Iraq. He came back broken in a dark place. That doesn’t excuse his behavior, but they knew this. He was in Washington, and then he went back to Maine and he started an oyster farm. He took accountability. He himself has said it was shameful,” Khanna added. 

But Khanna, who led the charge for the push to release the Epstein files with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), warned that his support of Platner would only extend so far, stating if allegations of sexual or physical violence emerged, he would pull his support. 

“If there was evidence of violence. I would not support him,” Khanna said. “If there was evidence of sexual assault, I’d have zero support for him. He acknowledges that he was misogynistic. It was shameful. One thing I want to make very clear: We should not be attacking the women who came forward. We should not be attacking the journalists.”