Graham Platner calls rape fantasy allegations politically motivated

BAR HARBOR, Maine – Facing arguably the roughest stretch to date of his campaign for the U.S. Senate, Democratic candidate Graham Platner, back on home turf, thanked a large crowd of supporters for having his back and charged the incoming fire he’s facing is “politically motivated.”

Platner, the military veteran and oyster farmer who is aiming to oust longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in this year’s midterm elections, has been playing defense amid multiple controversies, ranging from inflammatory online comments made on Reddit, a well-publicized and now covered-up tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol, to new allegations this week from ex-girlfriends of a history of rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent episodes.

“When hurtful things I said on the internet a decade ago came out into the public as I shared my personal journey through PTSD and darkness of recovery and accountability and growth. Maine had my back,” Platner said at a rally Friday. “Now, as every single piece of that past and journey gets dug up, litigated, and weaponized, you have my back. And when politically motivated, serious and false, false accusations are made against me. Maine, you have my back.”

Collins, a moderate Republican who at times votes against President Donald Trump’s agenda, is running for a sixth six-year term in the Senate in left-leaning Maine in a race that’s one of a handful across the country that will determine whether Republicans keep control of their slim Senate majority.

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Platner, who is supported by progressive champions Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Rep. Ro Khanna of California, is pushing an economically populist agenda as he takes aim at corporate influences and…