Fifield, 41, is the second woman to allege this week that Platner engaged in nonconsensual sexual conduct. Jenny Racicot, 41, who said she previously dated Platner, told The Post and other outlets on Monday that he sexually assaulted her in late 2021, leading a growing number of allies to drop their endorsements and call on him to withdraw from the race for a Maine seat in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), his most influential and prominent supporter, said he spoke with Platner on Tuesday and urged him to withdraw from his campaign to unseat Susan Collins, the incumbent Republican.
Platner, 41, a Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer, also denied Racicot’s allegation but said on Monday that he was “mindful of the political reality” that the reporting will “inflict” on his campaign and was “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.”
Fifield initially told The Post about the alleged condom removal during a June 20 interview that was off the record. She said she decided to speak publicly about it Tuesday in part because, she said, she wanted to show that Racicot was not alone in experiencing issues with Platner involving sexual consent.
HAD the best chance.
Regardless of if the allegations are true or not, Platner has no shot at this point. This will deflate any momentum he had. It is going to disillusion too many that he will not have the enthusastic support needed to beat Collins. His campaign is just too toxic at this point, people arent going to show.
So either we huff copium, and deny that reality until he gets defeated later OR we pivot now while we still have any shot.
There are polls coming out now. A while ago, he was running about 10 points ahead of Collins. Recently, he was neck-in-neck, within the margin of error. This will certainly put Collins in the lead. And I don’t see a path for him to recover. Even if nothing more comes up, his campaign is cooked. He should drop out so that Maine has a real choice in November.