All the broadcast network evening newscasts covered the serious rape allegation lodged against Maine’s Democrat Senate nominee Graham Platner, underscoring that Platner is considering discontinuing his campaign, the Maine Democratic Party wants him to step down, and several Democrats in Congress rescinded their endorsements.
All this (and the coverage) signals that Democrats collectively think this will make Platner lose and he needs to step aside. It could be compared to the networks covering the internal Democrat debate after the Biden debate fiasco in 2024.
None of the stories featured any Republican reaction or even voter reaction. None of the stories underlined that the accuser, Jenna Racicot, was mostly overlooked in a May New York Times story in favor of Republican ex-girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield, who was dismissed as having partisan motivations – unlike Racicot, who shares Platner’s leftist politics.
ABC and CBS waited more than ten minutes into the show. The PBS News Hour waited almost 37 minutes to get around to it, featuring it in their Monday political-pundits segment. NPR’s All Things Considered put it #12 on their list, behind eight minutes on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band deciding not to tour any more. Only NBC Nightly News arrived on the story in the first five minutes.
'NBC Nightly News' put the Platner story earliest among the networks -- 5 minutes in -- and included CNN footage of accuser Jenna Racicot and recalled Lyndsey Fifield's allegation of being shoved and having her arm violently twisted by Platner. pic.twitter.com/7I2sv65AUr
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) July 7, 2026
ABC's World News Tonight typically began the show with the weather -- storms and flash-flooding! -- but they did get around to Jay O'Brien, who used that annoying formulation that Platner had a tattoo "resembling a Nazi image" on his chest.
ABC's 'World News Tonight' took 11 minutes to get to the Platner story after typically beginning with storms and flash-flooding. ABC included CNN footage of the accuser and used that annoying formulation Platner had a tattoo 'resembling a Nazi image' on his chest. pic.twitter.com/XuSm1yqmjc
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) July 7, 2026
On the CBS Evening News, anchor Tony Dokoupil referred to Platner as a "rising star on the Left" -- but is he still rising? Nikole Killion went lighter on the female accusations than NBC did.
'CBS Evening News' touched on the new allegations against Graham Platner, 'a rising star on the Left.' He's still rising?? They used a CNN clip of the accuser, went lightly over the female accusations. pic.twitter.com/Id4zERR7Ro
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) July 7, 2026
On the PBS News Hour, political analyst Carrie Dann (filling in for her colleague Amy Walter) remained upbeat on the DNC spin: "Susan Collins remains very vulnerable. This could end up being the best news Democrats could have had if they are able to replace him with a candidate who can be competitive against her. However, that person is going to have to raise a lot of money and a lot of name I.D. really darn fast."
The 'PBS NEWS Hour' took almost 37 minutes to get to the Graham Platner rape-accusation story, in their "Politics Monday" segment. Even then, they talked all about the politics, and not really about the accuser at all. pic.twitter.com/lZUB4eVrXI
— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) July 7, 2026
PBS did not mention the rape charge earlier, in their "News Wrap," and curiously promoted their Politics Monday segment with something else: "Our Politics Monday team looks at both the unity and divisions that marked Fourth of July celebrations."
NPR ran a three-and-a-half minute interview with politics reporter Elena Moore. It failed to include any quote or soundbite from accuser Jenna Racicot.
