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More than half of the Senate Democratic caucus has called for Graham Platner to drop out of the Maine Senate race, less than 24 hours after POLITICO reported that a woman the oysterman once dated had accused him of sexual assault.

Platner has denied the allegation.

Most Democrats previously stuck by Platner even as his beleaguered campaign battled scandal after scandal in recent months. By Tuesday, the tide had turned firmly against Platner, with 34 of the Senate’s 47 Democratic senators calling for him to drop out as of early Tuesday afternoon.

The revolt included some top former allies who had previously defied calls to distance themselves from Platner. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement Tuesday that he had spoken with Platner and “in light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”

And Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Monday said that there “can be no tolerance for sexual assault,” just months after referring to the progressive outsider as “my kind of man” while stumping for him in April.

The list — according to POLITICO’s tally of every sitting Democratic senator’s social media posts and public statements — also includes some of the party’s top leaders. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a joint statement that he should withdraw and the DSCC “will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot.”

Less than a dozen Democratic senators appeared to have not yet publicly commented on Platner, and did not respond to POLITICO’s request for comment on their stance. Six senators — Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.); Chris Murphy (D-Conn.); Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii); Patty Murray (D-Wash.); Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.); and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) — said Platner should drop out after the initial publication of this tracker.

It’s not just senators who are breaking with Platner. The Maine Democratic Party put out a joint statement calling for him to exit the race, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who shares a number of top advisers with Platner but never endorsed him, also called for him to step down on Tuesday.

Platner has denied the allegations. But he said his campaign is “mindful of the political reality” and “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love” in a video released on social media Monday, shortly after POLITICO published its article.

Platner had not yet reached a final decision on his campaign.

Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the calls from senators for him to step aside.

The office of Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats and will serve with the eventual winner of the 2026 Maine Senate election, said he would not be commenting on Platner, per a longstanding policy not to comment on races involving his colleagues.

Two Democratic senators who had previously endorsed Platner, Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) condemned him and withdrew their endorsements, but did not explicitly call for him to drop out of the race in social media posts. Whitehouse’s office pointed to his Thursday statement when asked if he would demand Platner drop out, while Gallego did not immediately respond to a question on if he believed he should exit the race.

“The allegations against Graham Platner are troubling and deeply serious,” Gallego said on X. “I am rescinding my endorsement.”

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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said he told Maine Democrat Graham Platner to end his Senate bid on Tuesday, in the wake of a POLITICO report that a woman who Platner dated said he forced her to have sex with him.

“I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine. In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside,” Sanders said in a statement.

Platner has denied the allegations, saying in a statement this week that “any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue.”

It’s Sanders’ first public remarks about Platner since the POLITICO report, and it comes after he’s stood beside Platner in the wake of other scandals. Numerous other elected Democrats and officials called on Platner to step down on Monday night.

Shortly after POLITICO published the report, Platner posted a video saying he was “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward” on his candidacy.

Already, Democrats in the Pine Tree State are wrangling to replace Platner, something that can happen only if the nominee himself chooses to step aside. Platner would have to make the decision by July 13, as outlined in Maine state law. From there, the state Democratic Party will determine who will replace him, and that person must be named by July 27.

Sanders’ call on Platner is particularly notable, given he endorsed him and has rallied with him repeatedly in Maine. Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to an email regarding Sanders’ decision.

Numerous other former supporters of Platner, from progressive commentators to elected officials, called on him to end his campaign on Monday and Tuesday. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Democrats’ top Senate super PAC both pulled their financial support on Monday, saying they could not invest in the race to defeat GOP Sen. Susan Collins with Platner as the nominee.

The mass exodus comes after the party had largely stood behind Platner in other scandals, including resurfaced controversial social media posts and a Nazi-linked tattoo.

But POLITICO’s Monday report, where 41-year-old Maine resident Jenny Racicot said Platner entered her home uninvited nearly five years ago and forced himself on her despite her repeatedly telling him to stop, proved to be enough for the party to ditch him.

Racicot said she cut off contact with him after telling him that his actions that night were not consensual.

“I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” Racicot told POLITICO. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’”

In past rallies and comments, Sanders had stood behind Platner, even after an earlier storyfrom The New York Times about Platner’s past relationships reported how some women who dated the Maine oysterman said they found some of his behavior unsettling.

“Platner won a landslide victory last night, and I am quite confident that Democrats who want to regain the Senate will be supporting him as the Democratic nominee,” Sanders told reporters on Capitol Hill last month, just after the primary.

Our Revolution, an organization that grew out of Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, called on Platner to end his candidacy before the senator joined in. And they are calling for the Democratic Party not to choose an establishment candidate if he were to be replaced.

“To the Democratic establishment: this is not your opening,” Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese said in a statement. “Whoever leads this movement forward must be someone who has actually lived the fight Graham Platner ran on: a record with working people, with unions, against corporate money, already tested and trusted by the same base that delivered this result.”

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