WASHINGTON, July 6 (Reuters) – Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in Maine, said on Monday he would “reflect” on the future of his campaign while denying allegations in a Politico report that he forced a woman to have sex with him nearly five years ago.
“We are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward,” Platner said in a statement.
The Democratic Party can replace him on the November ballot if he drops out before July 13, according to state law. The state party would have until July 27 to settle on a replacement nominee if Platner drops out by the deadline.
Politico said the woman detailed the allegation in three interviews. It reported that it also reviewed documents including emails between the woman and her therapist and others.
Platner did not indicate whether he was considering suspending his campaign or dropping out of the race. It was also unclear whether Maine Governor Janet Mills, who had been running for the Senate seat but suspended her campaign earlier this year amid Platner’s surge in fundraising and polling, would rejoin if he left the race.
Mills’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Platner is attempting to capture the Senate seat long held by Republican Senator Susan Collins. The race is one of the most closely watched contests in this year’s November 3 midterm elections.
Collins’ seat is a key target in Democrats’ drive to win majority control of the Senate. Republicans currently hold 53 Senate seats, while Democrats control 47. They would need a net gain of four seats to take over the 100-member chamber.
Platner has denied past allegations of misconduct with women. He has also said he has covered over a Nazi-linked tattoo and that when he got the tattoo he was unaware of the Nazi significance.
Politico reported that the accuser, Jenny Racicot, had an on-and-off relationship with Platner. Reuters was not immediately able to reach Racicot for comment.
“One of the reasons I didn’t come forward sooner was, the huge moral conflict that I had between supporting his politics, but not supporting him as a person,” the report quoted her as saying. “I just want the truth out there. I just want people to have a whole scope of who he is as a person.”
Democrats have several options in addition to Mills they could turn to as a replacement for Platner if he drops out.
Other Democrats who ran in statewide races in last month’s Maine primary include Nirav Shah, a former state health director, Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president, and Shenna Bellows, the current secretary of state.
Officials with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which works to elect more Democrats to the Senate, did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the Maine Senate race amid the allegations. Aides to Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. Senator Angus King of Maine also did not return calls seeking comment.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan, Jasper Ward and Andy Sullivan; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
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