Kingmaker Mamdani calls on Platner to 'drop out of the race' after rape allegation

Maine Democratic candidate Graham Platner has lost another high-profile progressive from his corner: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Mamdani, during a press conference on Tuesday with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, was asked about Platner's race and his own role as an ascendant figure within the Democratic Party after a clean sweep of primary elections where his endorsed candidates toppled Democratic incumbents last month.

"I believe that it's time for him to drop out of the race," Mamdani said. "And when it comes to my own endorsements, I've made eight endorsements at the state and federal level. They've all been right here in New York City. I'm incredibly excited at the fact that they won their races, and that's where my focus is for now."

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When further pressed on whether Platner's campaign would have an impact on the broader progressive movement, Mamdani declined to weigh in.

"I think the focus of today should be on the campaign coming to a close, and I think there will be many more days to have conversations about what it means beyond that," he said.

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Mamdani, who never endorsed Platner's campaign, is the latest progressive to disavow him in an ever-growing list of Democrats across the country rushing to call on him to exit the Maine Senate race after a bombshell report that detailed an alleged rape of an ex-girlfriend, Jenny Racicot.

Notable about Mamdani's disconnect from Platner are the connections the two share - the growing face of the Democratic Party and the scandal-plagued candidate shared top aides, including Morris Katz, a key strategist in Mamdani's insurgent mayoral campaign and victory.

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Platner so far has not announced an end to his campaign, but said in a video statement moments after the report dropped that he was "taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to and the goal of defeating Susan Collins."

Several progressive candidates running for Senate, who previously kept mum on Platner's scandals, have demanded he pull the plug on his campaign. Those include James Talarico in Texas and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan.

Nearly all of his congressional endorsements have evaporated, too, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., the chair of Senate Democrats' campaign arm, calling for him to "immediately withdraw."

And on Tuesday afternoon, Platner lost his biggest backer. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Platner's staunchest ally and supporter in Washington, D.C., has changed his tune on Platner, calling on the him to "step aside," the wake of the latest scandal after less than a month before defending him as he heading to Washington, D.C., for a high-stakes meeting with Democratic top-brass.