Khanna says Platner should apologize over misconduct allegations
Ro Khanna called on Graham Platner to apologize for misconduct allegations, sharpening pressure on Democrats as Maine’s Senate primary nears.
Ro Khanna’s decision to publicly urge Graham Platner to apologize turned a damaging personal scandal into a test of Democratic accountability just days before Maine’s primary. The California congressman, the highest-profile national figure backing Platner, said Friday in Bar Harbor that the candidate should answer women who described troubling behavior and explain why it matters to confront misogynistic culture.
Khanna said Platner had shown redemption, but he also drew a direct line between the allegations and the standards Democrats say they want to uphold. “I think he should apologize. I believe what he did was wrong, was misogynistic, was toxic or volatile,” Khanna said, adding that it would be appropriate for Platner to apologize and explain why standing up to that culture matters. He repeated that support later in the evening at a get-out-the-vote rally with Platner and other Democratic candidates, but his comments marked a clear public warning as the party tries to keep a competitive Senate race from slipping.
The pressure on Platner has mounted for more than a week. His campaign confirmed on May 30 that he had sent sexually explicit texts to multiple women while married to Amy Gertner. Gertner then defended the marriage publicly, said the relationship is stronger than ever, and said the couple went to counseling and worked through the issue. Four days later, The New York Times reported accounts from three former girlfriends who described Platner as toxic and unsettling. One of them, Lyndsey Fifield, said Platner twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom, and held the door closed until she was calm.
Platner has denied that he was physically abusive and said claims of physicality were politically motivated. He has also argued that the scrutiny reflects an establishment that feels threatened, while trying to steer voters back to hospital closures, low Social Security benefits, housing costs and home-heating expenses. Maine Public reported that Platner said some of those relationships took place during what he called the darkest time of his life and after he received extensive therapy for combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder.
The timing gives the episode outsized importance. Maine’s Democratic primary is Tuesday, June 9, after Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign in late April, and the winner is expected to face Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a race that could help decide control of the U.S. Senate. Despite the allegations, Platner still has prominent allies, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Ruben Gallego. Khanna’s public call for an apology suggested that, at least for some Democrats, private unease is no longer enough. The question now is whether the party is willing to impose visible standards before a race with national consequences.
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