Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has no regrets about aggressively campaigning for Graham Platner, who later dropped out of Maine’s U.S. Senate race following explosive rape allegations.
CBS anchor Margaret Brennan pressed Sanders over his support for Platner, whose failed candidacy upended the Democratic establishment and sent the party scrambling to find a new nominee just months before the November election.
“You were an early supporter in Maine of Graham Platner. You helped him rise. Do you regret not acting earlier to call for him to drop out, given the warning signs?” Brennan asked.
In a defiant reply, Sanders said: “No, I don’t think so. When we heard the serious allegations made against him, I wanted to get on the phone. I wanted to talk to him. I did. I asked, along with virtually all his supporters, that he should get out of the race, and he did.”
CBS: “You were an early supporter in Maine of Graham Platner, you helped him rise. Do you regret not acting earlier…given the warning signs?”
BERNIE SANDERS: “No, I don’t think so.” pic.twitter.com/oImvb4luHc
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 26, 2026
The Daily Wire previously reported that leftists hand-picked Platner after their initial choice was found to have a major “skeleton” in his closet. Last July, two Bernie Sanders-aligned political operatives hunted for a Democrat to challenge Republican Senator Susan Collins, ultimately landing on and recruiting Platner. After a meteoric rise, Platner suspended his Senate campaign on July 8 after Democrats mounted a pressure campaign to force him out of the race following rape and sexual harassment allegations that he denies.
Over the weekend, Maine Democrats hand-selected a new nominee to replace the disgraced oyster farmer: Troy Jackson.
The party announced the decision on Saturday, saying that Jackson had been “formally” selected by the Maine Democratic State Committee — meaning that not a single Maine Democrat had cast a vote for him to be their nominee in that race.
Maine Democrats’ Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson praised the move, claiming that it was just one more example of “democracy” working exactly as it should.
“Democracy, while sometimes really messy, is always, always worth fighting for … doing what is right is what us Maine Democrats will choose every damn time,” she said.
Kristen Cianci, the Republican Party’s New England communications director, blasted the move on X, drawing comparisons to Kamala Harris’ coronation as the Democrats’ 2024 presidential nominee.
“History is repeating itself in Maine. Troy Jackson will be crowned by @MaineDems this weekend without a single vote being cast. Just like Kamala, voters will reject him when they finally get their say in November,” she said.
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