{"id":2627142,"date":"2026-07-09T07:37:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T11:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/platners-supporters-could-be-demoralized-or-further-radicalized\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T07:38:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T11:38:30","slug":"platners-supporters-could-be-demoralized-or-further-radicalized","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/platners-supporters-could-be-demoralized-or-further-radicalized\/","title":{"rendered":"Platner&#8217;s supporters could be demoralized or further radicalized"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fplatners-supporters-could-be-demoralized-or-further-radicalized%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2627142&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Graham Platner, a socialist Maine Democrat, withdrew from his Senate primary race amid <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/poll-one-in-six-biden-voters-would-have-changed-their-vote-if-they-had-known-about-scandals-suppressed-by-media\/\" title=\"Poll: One In Six Biden Voters Would Have Changed Their Vote If They Had Known About Scandals Suppressed By Media\">sexual assault allegations<\/a> and other controversies, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-captures-three-jan-6-fugitives-on-third-anniversary-of-capitol-riot\/\" title=\"FBI captures three Jan. 6 fugitives on third anniversary of Capitol riot\">including social media posts<\/a> and scandalous behavior. Despite denying the accusations and claiming political sabotage,he criticized the establishment for using these allegations to block his campaign.Platner argued that the political system is inherently corrupt and designed to suppress movements like his. His withdrawal risks demoralizing his supporters and may lead to a shift among his base, who could become disillusioned wiht the Democratic establishment. Notably, prominent endorsers like Bernie Sanders and others pulled their support, and some see his exit as a sign of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blm-effect-minorities-scored-94-of-new-jobs-at-sp-100-corporations-after-protests-report\/\" title=\"Report: BLM Protests Lead to 94% of New Jobs Going to Minorities at S&amp;P 100 Companies.\">systemic barriers faced<\/a> by <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >progressive candidates challenging entrenched power structures<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A big question facing <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/maine\/\">Maine<\/a> Democrats as they look to replace Senate primary winner <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/graham-platner\/\">Graham Platner<\/a> on the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/2026-election\/\">November ballot <\/a>is whether they can harness the enthusiasm of his supporters with another candidate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Platner\u2019s defiant, emotional speech in an 11-minute video <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4638358\/graham-platner-suspends-maine-senate-campaign\/\">announcing his withdrawal<\/a> from the race could either radicalize or demoralize those voters.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4641423\/maryland-redistricting-action-not-way-wes-moore-wanted\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Maryland may finally see redistricting action \u2014 just not the way Wes Moore wanted<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4641710\/maine-democrats-nominating-convention-platner\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Maine Democrats vote to hold nominating convention after Platner exits Senate race<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4638358\/graham-platner-suspends-maine-senate-campaign\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Graham Platner suspends Senate campaign after sexual assault allegations<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The embattled 41-year-old socialist once again denied the sexual assault allegations against him, which led to the near-total abandonment of his campaign by other Democrats, and attributed his decision to bow out to \u201cthose in power\u201d deciding to take his victory away.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe things that have been claimed did not happen. It\u2019s not real,\u201d he said, later adding, \u201cThis was the last week to try to get me off of the ballot, and that\u2019s why this is occurring.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Platner issued a searing indictment of the political establishment he blamed for upending his insurgent <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\">Senate<\/a> campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe went toe to toe with one of the most entrenched political systems in the history of the world and we won,\u201d he said. \u201cWe beat them on June 9 in overwhelming numbers. We did it the right way. We built a campaign, we engaged in electoral politics, we motivated people, we banded together, we did it the way that we were told we are supposed to make change. And we won.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, in words that could later feature in a campaign ad, Platner continued, \u201cAnd now they are not going to let us have it. Not if it\u2019s me. And so we\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/graham-platner-suspends-senate-campaign-after-sexual-assault-allegations\/\" title=\"... suspends Senate ... after ...\">suspending campaign operations<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is exactly the kind of political system that everyone voted against on June 9,\u201d Platner said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This could easily be read by voters as a failure to take personal responsibility for offensive <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/social-media\/\">social media posts<\/a>, a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/restoring-america\/equality-not-elitism\/4614973\/collins-has-flaws-platner-has-a-totenkopf\/\">Nazi tattoo<\/a>, a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/daily-memo\/4603116\/time-to-see-graham-platner-sexts-maine-senate-race\/\">sexting scandal<\/a>, messy romantic relationships, allegations of violent outbursts, and now an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/beltway-confidential\/4641219\/how-politico-got-platner-story-the-new-york-times-missed\/\">accusation of sexual assault<\/a> from a former girlfriend who broadly shares his politics.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Planter hails from a movement that believes the American system is corrupt, racist, and oppressive. He is a protege of socialist Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bernie-sanders\/\">Bernie Sanders<\/a> (I-VT), whose supporters believe he was cheated out of the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and that the party establishment colluded against him in 2020.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The socialist uprising inside the Democratic Party is billed as an attempt to overthrow the donor class. Now Platner is saying that the donors can stop him from beating Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/susan-collins\/\">Susan Collins<\/a> (R-ME) and effectively erase his primary win.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re not doing it because of the allegations,\u201d Platner said of his decision to suspend his campaign. \u201cWe\u2019re doing it because of the structure being taken away from us by those in power.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If they can take it away from Platner, why not other progressive Democrats?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Noting that it was the last week to remove him from the ballot, Platner again blamed political elites for the end of his campaign. \u201cIt\u2019s not the false allegations, though, that have brought us to where we are,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the fact that they are being used by the political establishment to put structural pressure on us. We live in a political system that is not built for normal people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is a system that is built structurally to make sure that movements like ours cannot flourish,\u201d he added. \u201cThat if they begin to succeed, they can be crushed.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And if you believe Platner\u2019s rationale for stepping aside, it worked here.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Platner praised his donors, supporters, and grassroots activists, expressing confidence that they could win \u2014 if the powers that be would allow it. \u201cBut the brutal political reality is, they are going to take everything away from us,\u201d he said. \u201cThose in power who have the ability to do so are using these allegations as an excuse to take away all of the things we need to run a campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These words could get Platner supporters to redouble their efforts, especially if Maine Democrats <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4641563\/democrats-kamala-harris-platner-maine\/\">choose at their convention<\/a> one of the other progressive options.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Platner\u2019s withdrawal speech could keep his voters on the sidelines in November as well, punishing a Democratic establishment that never wanted him to be the nominee in the first place. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Platner didn\u2019t acknowledge that most of his top backers on the Left, including Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), pulled their endorsements and joined calls for him to leave the race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGraham Platner made the right decision to step aside,\u201d the Sanders-aligned political group Our Revolution said in a statement. \u201cOur Revolution rescinded our endorsement earlier this week, and we said clearly this is not the Democratic establishment\u2019s opening to hand-pick a replacement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe were asking for real democracy and we did it the right way and we won,\u201d Platner said. \u201cBut now the ball is in the court of the Democratic establishment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s in the court of the Platner wing of the party, too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4638202\/fetterman-sanders-graham-platner-endorsement\/\"><strong>FETTERMAN TELLS SANDERS TO APOLOGIZE FOR ENDORSING \u2018PREDATOR\u2019 GRAHAM PLATNER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019re gonna win someday,\u201d Platner concluded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A lot is riding on whether his voters believe that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maine Dems face challenge in replacing Platner, rally support<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2659,"featured_media":2627143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26158814059707.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[23996,5894,12875,46065,5221],"class_list":["post-2627142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-demoralized","tag-politics","tag-radicalized","tag-socialdynamics","tag-supporters"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26158814059707.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2627142"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2627146,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2627142\/revisions\/2627146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2627143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2627142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2627142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2627142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}