Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 10
Maine Women Mourn Graham Platner's Senate Exit After Endorsements Collapsed Over Rape Allegation
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 10

Maine Women Mourn Graham Platner's Senate Exit After Endorsements Collapsed Over Rape Allegation

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 10

Summary

  • Some women in Maine who backed Graham Platner say they are angry and grieving after Democratic endorsements were pulled, helping end his Senate campaign.
  • Those supporters say their frustration is aimed less at Platner than at party figures they see as deciding from Washington who can represent them.
  • Cory Upton-Cosulich, 40, said she believed the rape accusation against Platner — which he denied — and other allegations, but supported him because she thought he would fight for working-class voters.
  • For those women, Platner's collapse became a broader symbol of alienation from a political system they believe ignores their lives and blocks anti-establishment change.

Insights

With their candidate gone, can a leaderless populist movement still shape the outcome of a crucial Senate race?
He championed the working-class but was backed by the wealthy. What does this reveal about today's anti-establishment movements?