Fox News contributor and former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has claimed that senior Democrats abandoned Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner out of self-interest rather than moral conviction, arguing they turned on him only once they judged him unable to win. Speaking on "The Ingraham Angle", Bongino said "there were no principles involved here at all", describing Platner as a political "tool" that was "no longer sharp". The remarks matter because they frame a fast-collapsing Democratic campaign as a partisan talking point ahead of a closely watched race against incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins.

The comments follow a rape allegation against Platner and a second accusation, reported by The Washington Post, that he removed condoms during sex with an ex-girlfriend against her wishes. Prominent Democrats and progressives — including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Representative Ro Khanna, and Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren — have withdrawn support or urged him to quit. Platner's campaign has denied both allegations, calling the second "categorically false".