Andrew Stiles of the Washington Free Beacon highlights Democratic presidential hopefuls who back Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner before his ignominious fall.
Graham Platner easily won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Maine despite an array of scandals involving a Nazi tattoo, antisemitic horseplay, offensive online commentary, flagrant lying, serial infidelity, and domestic abuse. He ended his campaign on Wednesday after an ex-girlfriend’s credible rape accusation—amid sagging poll numbers and a looming deadline to select a new candidate—finally compelled Democrats and sympathetic journalists to abandon ship.
Whereas most normal observers saw this coming, Democrats repeatedly defended Platner as the warning signs mounted. Many vouched for his character, insisting that his past “mistakes” were a testament to his “working-class” authenticity. Supporters hailed Platner’s personal odyssey—from upper-middle-class boarding school washout and dirtbag leftist to unemployed oyster supplier to his mother’s fine-dining restaurant—as a classic tale of American redemption.
Alas, it was not.
A number of Democratic lawmakers eyeing prominent roles in the 2028 presidential primary—whether as candidates or kingmakers—went out of their way to boost Platner’s candidacy and associate themselves with his particular brand of scumbag socialism. …
… [Ro] Khanna, the most shamelessly ambitious Democrat since Barack Obama, was arguably Platner’s most enthusiastic booster in Congress. A day after the New York Times reported on allegations of toxic behavior from the candidate’s former girlfriends, Khanna flew to Maine for a campaign rally where he argued that electing Platner to the U.S. Senate despite his troubled past would bring much-needed “redemption” to a “broken” America. …
… Few Democrats have demonstrated worse political judgment than [Ruben] Gallego, who endorsed Platner in early March. Several weeks later, his good friend and party companion, former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.), ended his gubernatorial bid and resigned from Congress amid multiple allegations of sexual assault. …
… No stranger to controversy involving toxic behavior, Gallego is best known for serving his ex-wife divorce papers when she was nine months pregnant and demanding that she cover his attorney’s fees.
