Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), chairwoman of the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, have pledged to starve Platner of national party funds. “The DSCC will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot,” they said.

But the most significant defection from Platner so far comes from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), a possible 2028 progressive presidential candidate who invested a lot of his credibility in defending Platner ahead of the Democratic primary.

Where Khanna once conceded Platner had behaved in ways that were “misogynistic,” “shameful,” and “wrong,” but was sent to a “dark place” serving in Iraq and therefore deserved “grace,” on Monday, he reaffirmed “sexual assault or violence against women is a red line,” pulled his endorsement, and called on Platner to drop out.

This time, the worst credible allegation against Platner could not be dismissed as coming from a Republican.

While Platner has denied the latest allegations, saying, “Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false,” he did not sound nearly as committed to staying in the race as Biden did in the hours following the debate debacle.

“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, 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 a video posted to X.

But the window for replacing Platner is shorter. Biden and Trump debated on June 27, 2024. The Democratic convention in Chicago kicked off on Aug. 19 and acceptance speeches began on Aug. 21. Biden ended his reelection bid on July 21 after nearly a month trying to resist Democratic pressure and stay in the race.

This time, Democrats don’t have weeks to waste convincing their nominee to withdraw.

Democrats had been worried about Biden’s prospects before the debate, with several polls showing him trailing Trump. Platner’s poll numbers initially held up amid pre-primary stories about his past bad behavior toward women, though those reports stopped short of alleging sexual assault. (It was widely rumored at the time that a major news story containing such allegations was in the works.)

Platner’s lead has steadily dwindled to just 0.7 points in the RealClearPolitics polling average. Two separate polls by Wedgewood and Fox News showed Collins leading. She significantly outperformed her poll numbers when she won reelection in 2020.

If Democrats lose the Maine Senate race, their path to an upper chamber majority becomes precarious and highly dependent on success in states Trump won, often by double digits, in 2024.

While former President Barack Obama and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) were pivotal in forcing Biden’s exit, the important poles of influence with Platner would appear to be Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). 

Schumer and much of the party establishment had opposed Platner from the beginning, but their preferred candidate, Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME), bombed in the pre-primary polling.

Platner and his allies would likely push for a replacement in the progressive or socialist mold. One possibility is Troy Jackson, who was backed by Sanders and the Democratic Socialists of America in his unsuccessful gubernatorial bid. Jackson also hails from northern Maine, which happens to be Collins’s geographical base, and was the only Democrat tested in the Wedgewood poll to lead her.

Platner still has some leverage because he won the primary with more than 70% of the vote and would need to agree to leave the race.

If Democrats could once again pull off this candidate switch in the nick of time, it could strengthen their chances of flipping this seat and control of the Senate.

PLATNER TO ‘REFLECT’ ON ‘BEST PATH FORWARD’ FOLLOWING SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS

At the same time, it will leave the replacement with less time to campaign (a set of circumstances former Vice President Kamala Harris has blamed for her 2024 loss to Trump), and it will once again put the ostensibly pro-democracy party in the position of overruling its primary voters in a key race.

The episode is also embarrassing to Democrats who vouched for Platner prior to the latest bombshell.