{"id":290800,"date":"2026-07-08T22:13:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T22:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/290800\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T22:13:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T22:13:15","slug":"accused-rapist-graham-platner-convenes-crisis-meetings-with-campaign-brass-as-he-holds-livid-dems-hostage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/290800\/","title":{"rendered":"Accused rapist Graham Platner convenes crisis meetings with campaign brass as he holds ‘livid’ Dems hostage"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2014 Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s silver-spoon socialist adviser, Morris Katz<\/a>, rushed over to beleaguered\u00a0Graham Platner\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0house Wednesday as they plotted how to remain a powerbroker in the Senate race<\/a> \u2014 enraging Democrats.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The gathering included Platner\u2019s top campaign brass\u00a0in addition to\u00a0Katz, who is trying to hatch a plan for Platner to \u201cremain a voice\u201d in the Senate contest \u201cno matter what\u201d the accused rapist decides, a source familiar\u00a0with\u00a0deliberations told The Post.<\/p>\n

Platner has so far refused to step down as Maine\u2019s Democratic Senate nominee after he was accused of rate by an ex-girlfriend \u2014 with the clock ticking on a Monday deadline.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Morris Katz was spotted entering Graham Platner\u2019s home on Wednesday. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

His intransigence has left Maine Democrats \u201clivid\u201d and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) \u201cin shock,\u201d according to the source.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that the\u00a0NYC mayor\u2019s fixer is headed there to triage Maine\u00a0<\/a>has everyone fuming,\u201d the source added.<\/p>\n

Allies of Platner argue that he formed a movement in Maine, touting the over\u00a0150,000 votes he notched<\/a>\u00a0in the primary, and deserves to remain influential.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Platner denies an allegations of rape or sexual assault.<\/p>\n

Two sources say Katz has told allies he believes Platner should to leave the race before the 5 p.m. Monday deadline to withdraw from the ballot \u2014 but wants the exit to be on the candidate\u2019s terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite clear that he\u2019s [Platner\u2019s] gonna have to get out of the race,\u201d a second source told The Post. \u201cTheir reluctance here \u2026 is a result of their larger political project, trying to get these types of candidates into places of power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham Platner and Amy Gertner speaking to a security guard outside their home in Sullivan, Maine on July 7, 2026. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

Platner campaign manager Ben Chin was seen bringing bags into the scandal-scarred oyster farmer\u2019s home. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

Other campaign officials seen entering Platner\u2019s Sullivan home include field director Spencer Toth, digital communications consultant Ryan Aquilina, campaign manager Ben Chin, and Chin\u2019s deputy Eleni Neyland.<\/p>\n

Some of them were seen with\u00a0backpacks amid expectations that they will have to\u00a0film a video message from Platner.<\/p>\n

The Platner campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the latest on the bombshell sexual assault allegations against lefty Senate candidate Graham Platner:<\/p>\n

Not long after the meeting convened, Chin\u00a0reportedly sent out<\/a>\u00a0a text blast to Platner\u2019s supporters seeking feedback for the oyster farmer and\u00a0the Democratic Party.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[Y]esterday, the Maine Democratic Party said that our movement will \u2018have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, nor in determining what this process looks like,’\u201d he fumed in the text blast. \u201cBoth the state and national parties cut our team, our volunteers, and our vast networks of supporters out of the conversation completely.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe firmly believe that the supporters and volunteers who built this movement deserve\u00a0to have\u00a0a real role in any nomination process.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday, Platner announced in a video message that he was \u201ctaking the time to reflect on the best path forward\u201d after a former girlfriend, Jenny Racicot, told Politico that he entered her home without permission and raped her in the dead of night in 2021.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Maine Senate Democratic hopeful faced a constant stream of scandals before the rape accusations emerged. Pod Save America<\/p>\n

Platner has denied Racicot\u2019s accusations as \u201ccategorically false.\u201d<\/p>\n

If and when Platner does drop out, he is expected to announce his exit in a similar video message, CNN reported.<\/p>\n

Following Racicot\u2019s allegation, Platner\u2019s most prominent backers \u2014 including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)<\/a>, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) \u2014 publicly called on him to step aside.<\/p>\n

Key financial and logistical backers, including the DSCC, have vowed to stay out of the race if Platner refuses to withdraw.<\/p>\n

Under Maine law, Platner must withdraw of his own volition by close of business July 13 <\/a>to be removed from the ballot. From that point, Democrats will have exactly two weeks to name a replacement.<\/p>\n

Graham Platner\u2019s campaign manager and deputy campaign manager arrived at his house Wednesday morning to discuss an exit strategy. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

Campaign field director Spencer Toth was part of the entourage. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

Ryan Aquilina, a digital communications consultant, had helped build out Graham Platner\u2019s viral online persona. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

State party officials are scrambling to develop a process to pick a new nominee, even toying with an ad hoc convention that is likely to be dominated by Platner supporters.<\/p>\n

The Post reported<\/a> Tuesday that the candidate himself wants assurances that any replacement will share his far-left ideology.<\/p>\n

\u201c[T]he Maine Democratic Party has been working around the clock to develop a process to replace our US Senate nominee that is open, inclusive, transparent and fair,\u201d MDP Executive Director\u00a0Devon Murphy-Anderson said in a video\u00a0posted on X<\/a> late Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, Graham Platner\u2019s team has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner\u2019s team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the US Senate, nor in determining what this process looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Platner\u2019s team denied<\/a> trying to meddle in the process, with a spokesperson saying in a statement: \u201cThe Platner campaign has reached out to the party to try and understand what this process would look like. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt no point has the campaign tried to \u2018put its finger on the scale.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON \u2014 Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s silver-spoon socialist adviser, Morris Katz, rushed over to beleaguered\u00a0Graham Platner\u2019s\u00a0house Wednesday as they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290801,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2132,12827,5315,46937,9,11,10,87,855,58],"class_list":["post-290800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-democrats","tag-graham-platner","tag-maine","tag-midterm-elections-2026","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-politics","tag-senate","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}