Millions in Dem ad money vanished from Platner race days before rape allegation doomed Senate bid
Two Democratic-aligned political groups shifted millions of dollars in planned Maine Senate ad reservations days before a rape allegation against former Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner became public, handing Republicans...
By Fox News · Fox News
Two Democratic -aligned political groups shifted millions of dollars in planned Maine Senate ad reservations days before a rape allegation against former Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner became public, handing Republicans a new line of attack over whether party leaders had already lost confidence in his campaign. WinSenate removed more than $6.2 million in Maine Senate ad reservations, including $5.9 million in broadcast reservations from July 7 through Aug. 31 and $330,000 in cable reservations that had been set to begin June 30, AdImpact, a leading ad-tracking and analytics firm that monitors political advertising, reported July 2. AdImpact also said a separate $240,000 in digital spending shifted from Majority Forward. The ad shift came roughly one week before one of Platner’s ex-girlfriends accused him of rape, though Majority Forward denied the shift was due to recent campaign turmoil. The rape allegation reported by Politico, which Platner denied, ended a campaign already weakened by months of controversy. Platner had faced scrutiny since October 2025 over comments from a deleted Reddit account and a Nazi-linked tattoo he acquired while serving in the armed forces. Pressure intensified June 4 after The New York Times reported that multiple ex-girlfriends described him as emotionally abusive, which he also denied. WATCH: CHUCK SCHUMER SIDESTEPS PLATNER SCANDALS, CONFIRMS SUPPORT FOR CONTROVERSIAL DEM "D.C. Democrats are furious that Graham Platner went down swinging with a lengthy swan song calling out their ‘political establishment’ coup to silence grassroots progressives," one GOP operative told Fox News Digital. "Chuck Schumer’s ad spending proves he only discovered moral clarity when his midterm strategy was on life support." The funding for the ads was rerouted to a different Democratic committee to reserve advertising space in Maine between July 7 and Aug. 31, according to AdImpact. Majority Forward denied the spending shift was connected to Plat…