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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., says she needs time to review new reporting surrounding Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner before giving her thoughts on new allegations of aggressive behavior.
“This all kind of just came out. I’ve been doing legislative business on the floor, so I need to dig into everything further before commenting on it,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“I don’t want to speak before I’ve dug into a lot of, you know, to before I’ve dug into what’s out there. So, I just want to be respectful of that man,” she added.
Ocasio-Cortez’s caution comes as the New York Times released a report on Thursday, detailing the experience of multiple women who had been romantically involved with Platner in years past.
SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER SENT EXPLICIT TEXTS TO MULTIPLE WOMEN WHILE MARRIED, WIFE SAYS: REPORT
Some of them recounted allegations of rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent episodes.
Platner, who has acknowledged his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in the military from his time in the military, told Fox News Digital that he has “been open about what was a very dark period of my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD.”
“Throughout this campaign, I’ve been open about what was a very dark period of my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, too often self-medicated with alcohol and was far from a perfect boyfriend,” Platner said in a statement.
Notably, Ocasio-Cortez has yet to give Platner, a fellow progressive, her endorsement as he looks to unseat Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
PLATNER CONTROVERSIES FUEL SPECULATION ABOUT LITTLE-KNOWN MAINE BALLOT REPLACEMENT PROVISION
The new reporting adds to a growing pile of concerns surrounding Platner’s candidacy.
Platner has received criticism for making off-color remarks on sexual abuse, race and terror, for a tattoo associated with Nazi imagery and for potentially messaging with several women outside of his marriage in inappropriate ways.
Among other resurfaced comments, Platner, in one Reddit post, once blamed rape victims for failing to protect themselves.
“How about people just take some responsibility for themselves and not so f—ed up when they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to?” Platner wrote in 2013.
‘HE HATED WOMEN’: EXPLOSIVE ABUSE, NEW NAZI TATTOO ALLEGATIONS FROM EXES ROCK PLATNER’S CAMPAIGN
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Platner, who looks poised to take the Democratic nomination to challenge Collins, R-Maine, met with senators earlier this week, reassuring them about his prospective candidacy.
Maine will hold its Senate primaries next Tuesday.
Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
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