Millions of dollars in planned Maine Senate ad reservations were shifted by two Democratic-aligned groups just days before a rape allegation against former Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner became public. The move has handed Republicans a new line of attack, questioning whether party leaders had already lost confidence in Platner’s campaign.

Ad Shift and Allegations

According to AdImpact, a leading ad-tracking and analytics firm, WinSenate removed more than $6.2 million in Maine Senate ad reservations. This included $5.9 million in broadcast reservations and $330,000 in cable reservations. Additionally, a separate $240,000 in digital spending was shifted from Majority Forward.

The ad shift occurred roughly one week before the rape allegation against Platner, which he denies, was made public. The allegation, reported by Politico, ended a campaign already weakened by months of controversy, including scrutiny over comments from a deleted Reddit account and a Nazi-linked tattoo.

Response and Aftermath

Majority Forward denied that the spending shift was connected to Platner’s campaign turmoil, stating it was a common practice with issue advocacy campaigns. The funding for the ads was rerouted to a different Democratic committee to reserve advertising space in Maine.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, whose allies run the Senate Majority PAC closely tied to WinSenate and Majority Forward, initially avoided commenting on Platner’s controversies. After the rape allegation, Schumer expressed disturbance and demanded Platner withdraw from the race.

Platner claimed the Democratic establishment sabotaged his campaign, stating the rape allegations were used as an excuse to withdraw support. Democrats in Maine plan to hold a nominating convention to determine who will replace Platner to face incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins in November.

Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.