Platner Senate Bid Implodes Over 1 Rape Allegation as Democrats Reopen Gender Double-Standard Debate
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 10
Platner Senate Bid Implodes Over 1 Rape Allegation as Democrats Reopen Gender Double-Standard Debate
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 10
Summary
Graham Platner’s Senate campaign collapsed this week after a rape allegation, prompting Democratic women and party veterans to reassess how his candidacy advanced so far.
Donna Brazile and other Democrats argued no female Senate candidate with Platner’s thin work history, incendiary comments and visible red flags would have come close to a nomination.
Platner has strongly denied the rape allegation and a separate New York Times-reported accusation that he was physically rough with at least 1 other woman.
The fallout has revived a broader Democratic argument over gender and electability—whether male outsiders get more room for reinvention as the party searches for voters it has lost.