Graham Platner's campaign, which started with such excitement and inspired so many people in Maine, has become a shameful catastrophe. What's left--besides finding a Democrat to run in his place--is figuring out what, if anything, can be learned from this debacle.

As you probably know by now, Politico published a story about a woman, Jenny Racicot, who says that Platner raped her. According to Racicot, they'd been romantically involved, on and off, for more than two years when he showed up at her house drunk and uninvited one night in 2021, let himself in and forced himself on her.

She confided her ordeal to a man she dated after Platner, as well as to her therapist, and showed Politico text messages she sent in 2023 warning an acquaintance away from him. Her account is completely believable and completely devastating.

The Platner campaign represented an electoral insurgency against the Democratic Party; now, there are going to be furious recriminations against those who launched it. There is plenty of blame to go around.

Most at fault, of course, is Platner himself. He allegedly victimized Racicot, and then his campaign victimized her again, putting her........

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