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Sen John Kennedy warns Democrats face a 'reckoning' over Graham Platner's refusal to drop out of Maine race
By Taylor Penley
Published July 08, 2026
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., believes Democrats are headed for a "reckoning," pointing to embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner's refusal to bow to mounting calls from his own party to abandon his campaign amid bombshell sexual misconduct allegations.
"A reckoning is coming for the Democratic Party," Kennedy said Tuesday night during a "Hannity" appearance.
"Most of my colleagues in the United States Senate know better. They could see this about Mr. Platner. The guy's a clown, he can't even juggle. He's a 'Saturday Night Live' skit, but once the Hamas wing of the party nominated him, it became raw-gut politics."
TOP PLATNER ALLY TURNS ON HIM AFTER BOMBSHELL RAPE ALLEGATION ROCKS CAMPAIGN: 'RED LINE'
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., arrives at a Senate Republican policy luncheon in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 28, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Kennedy argued Democrats ignored what he described as warning signs about Platner because they were focused on winning the seat, adding that the controversy now threatens to engulf the party.
"The selfish part of me says, 'Run, Graham, run. I'll send you a campaign contribution.' But the part of me that wants America's future to be better than our present or our past knows that this guy is just, he's a predator. He is a predator, and you don't want him anywhere near power," he said.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner participated in a television interview on May 1, in Portland, Maine, following a campaign event with the Maine AFL-CIO. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)
The Louisiana senator's remarks come as Platner faces calls to back out of the high-stakes race against incumbent Sen. Susan Collins.
Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who previously campaigned for the Maine progressive, have rescinded their endorsements or called for an end to his campaign in light of a rape allegation by Maine resident Jenny Racicot, 41, who previously dated the scandal-plagued candidate.
A second allegation rattled Platner's campaign on Tuesday, when his ex-girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield accused him of removing condoms during sex after she explicitly directed him to wear them.
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Platner's campaign has denied both allegations. His campaign reportedly told The Washington Post that Fifield's latest allegations were "categorically false and politically motivated."
https://www.foxnews.com/media/sen-john-kennedy-warns-democrats-face-reckoning-graham-platner-refusal-drop-maine-race