Mayor Zohran Mamdani urges Maine’s Graham Platner to drop out of Senate race after rape claim

Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday said Graham Platner should drop his bid for a Maine US Senate seat after a bombshell rape accusation against the scandal-scarred candidate.

“I believe that it’s time for him to drop out of the race,” said Mamdani — who shares a key progressive strategist, Morris Katz, with Platner.

“I think the focus of today should be to respond to the gravity of what so many of us have read and I think the only appropriate response is for the campaign to come to an end,” he told reporters in City Hall.

The mayor joined a slew of other prominent Democrats, including New York senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, who rescinded their endorsements and urged Platner to drop out after his ex-girlfriend told Politico he raped her.

The oyster farmer had gained momentum in the Maine race by running an unapologetically leftist campaign, much like Mamdani did in last year’s mayoral race.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.