The withdrawal of the Democratic candidate in Maine over sexual assault accusations condenses all the party's ills

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The rise and fall of Graham Platner as Maine's Democratic Senate candidate has exposed the seams of the party leadership. Platner withdrew his candidacy on Friday, after a woman he had dated accused him of sexual assault, complicating Democrats' chances of regaining the Senate this November. The crisis, however, goes deeper: the revelation of the case has brought to light that the party decided to disregard other information about Platner simply because he fit the working-class archetype they want to embrace.