Sexual assault claim leads NC’s Cooper to join Democrats’ call for Platner withdrawal
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Former Gov. Roy Cooper called for Graham Platner to drop out.
- Both the DSCC and Senate Majority PAC withdrew support for Platner.
- Democrats worry Platner could jeopardize flipping Maine's Senate seat.
Former Gov. Roy Cooper called for a Democrat to withdraw from his Senate campaign in Maine.
Cooper is running to represent North Carolina in the Senate, and his involvement in another race is a rare move, but he joins a growing chorus of Democrats fighting to prevent a scandal-ridden candidate from staying in a race that could affect whether the party can take back control of the upper chamber.
On Monday afternoon, Politico reported that a woman accused Graham Platner, a Democrat from Maine, of sexually assaulting her after he had too much alcohol.
Platner, a Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer, immediately denied the accusation.
But the article adds to a growing list of allegations against Platner including having a Nazi tattoo, having affairs while married, committing violence against women he dated, and posting racist and misogynistic messages online.
There were signs prior to Politico’s article dropping that a new scandal was about to come to light. Platner’s campaign began canceling scheduled events for the rest of the week, adding to speculation about what was to come. The story broke just after 3:30 p.m.
“This goes beyond politics,” Cooper said on social media, around 9 p.m. Monday. “These are disturbing allegations, and I believe Graham Platner should drop out of this race.”
Tyler Voigt, state director for conservative advocacy group Americans For Prosperity North Carolina, questioned Cooper’s post online, saying, “Team Cooper finally found the political spine to say something (after the dam broke and it was politically okay to do so). Was he cool with all of the other stuff, since he didn’t say a peep about it?”
He added that the timing of Cooper’s post was suspicious because it came within a minute of a similar post by former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is running in Ohio.
“Did the @dscc give the green light for their next man up to knife their guy,” Voigt asked, referring to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “Just very convenient timing of it all, I guess.”
Losing support
Cooper didn’t stand on his own in making that call. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who hadn’t originally supported Platner, called on him to immediately drop out.
So did Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ruben Gallego and Rep. Ro Khanna, who had all endorsed Platner.
And offering the biggest blow to Platner’s campaign, both the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Senate Majority PAC withdrew support.
Senate control
Republicans currently control the three branches of government, but Democrats hope to at least take back part of the legislative branch.
In order to control the Senate, Democrats need a net gain of four seats in the midterms. The party was eyeing both Maine and North Carolina as potentially contributing.
Maine’s Senate seat is currently occupied by Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who is up for reelection.
Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from Huntersville, currently serves North Carolina in the Senate and opted against running for reelection after a public argument with President Donald Trump over legislation Trump championed that would negatively impact the state’s Medicaid recipients.
That left Cooper and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, who Trump handpicked to succeed Tillis, facing off on the November ballot for Tillis’ seat.
Cooper has led every poll against Whatley since they both entered the race last July, and at times Cooper’s lead has reached double-digits.
Democrats worry if Platner remains in the race, it could harm their chances of flipping Maine. But if he drops out by July 13, Democrats have the opportunity to run another candidate instead.
Party reputation
Chris Cooper, a political science professor at Western Carolina University, said the candidacy of Platner has reminded him of North Carolina’s gubernatorial race in 2024 when Republicans wrestled with how to deal with a controversial candidate on the ballot.
“Graham Platner has now been credibly accused of knowingly having a Nazi-adjacent tattoo … of not just being a bad boyfriend and having a drinking problem but committing sexual assault,” Chris Cooper said. “So for Democrats, yes, there is what might happen in the United States Senate, and who might hold control, but I think more important is how do you handle a candidate like this who is so clearly flawed?”
The candidate in 2024 was former Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who, since becoming a Republican politician, had been known as an outspoken, controversial figure. But allegations that he wrote racist and raunchy messages on a porn forum derailed his campaign for governor.
“Both Robinson and Platner posted horrific misogynistic comments on websites,” Chris Cooper said. If you were to compare what Robinson said and what Platner said, they’re really not very dissimilar at all. Their online behavior and their personal decision-making and their misogynistic statements are similar, but Robinson was never credibly accused of sexual assault.”
Cooper added that that led Robinson to lose his election against Josh Stein by 13 percentage points.
“We’re in a state where a 4% victory would be considered a large one,” Cooper added.
Platner’s future
If Platner were to stay in the race and lose, Chris Cooper said it would make it that much harder on Democrats to flip the Senate.
“Assuming he loses, it narrows the possibility of a Democratic majority even more, and I think it was still not the most likely outcome,” Cooper said. “I think the most likely outcome all along has been that the Republicans maintain control of the Senate, but it really narrows it.”
Cooper added that it would mean that states like Texas, Iowa and Alaska move from “being gravy” to being necessary to have a majority.
“I think the Democrats can hold on to Georgia,” Cooper said. “I think the Democrats are likely to hold on to Michigan even more so now that one of the more moderate candidates pulled out, and so they can sort of focus their efforts, but the map was already tough for Democrats and it just got a lot tougher.”
As for North Carolina, Cooper said that every forecaster is saying that the race is “in lean Democratic territory.” He added that Whatley can still win, with a long time left until November.
“But at the end of the day, we expect Roy Cooper to win this election,” Cooper, who is of no relation to the candidate, said. “If he doesn’t, that’s a problem for Democrats, but I don’t see a scenario — and if Roy Cooper loses, North Carolina was not going to be the key to the majority. If he loses, they’ve lost Texas, Iowa, Alaska and perhaps Michigan and Georgia.”
This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 1:06 PM with the headline "Sexual assault claim leads NC’s Cooper to join Democrats’ call for Platner withdrawal."
