Dan Bongino Criticizes Democrats’ Shift on Senate Candidate Graham Platner

Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino criticized leading Democrats for prioritizing power over principles. He claimed that many Democrats only began to oppose Senate candidate Graham Platner once they decided he couldn’t win.

Bongino expressed his views on ‘The Ingraham Angle,’ stating, ‘There were no principles involved here at all.’ He added, ‘The left are the anti-anti-communist. They’re just against us and whatever we stand for to advance their communist agenda, and this guy was a tool that’s no longer sharp for them.’

Kingmaker Zohran Mamdani has called for Platner to ‘drop out of the race’ following a rape allegation.

Bongino, speaking as the former deputy director of the FBI, participated in a press conference on December 4, 2025, announcing the arrest of Brian Cole Jr., accused of placing pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committee offices on January 6, 2021.

Multiple Democrats and progressives, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have either withdrawn their support for Platner or urged him to exit the race after a rape accusation was made against him.

Following the initial accusation, a second allegation of sexual misconduct surfaced. According to a report by The Washington Post, Platner allegedly removed condoms during intercourse with his ex-girlfriend, Lyndsey Fifield, despite her request for him to use them.

These allegations have further threatened Platner’s campaign to replace Sen. Susan Collins.

New explosive allegation emerges in Platner’s campaign amid ongoing scandal.

Platner’s campaign has denied the allegations, stating to The Washington Post that the latter accusation was ‘categorically false and politically motivated.’ The campaign did not respond to previous requests for comment from Fox News Digital.

Bongino and other Republicans have criticized Democrats for their sudden change of stance towards Platner. Bongino remarked, ‘This is not about any principle whatsoever. It’s not about Platner’s position on women or taxes or anything like that. This is about a simple power equation.’

He further elaborated, stating, ‘Platner was an acquisition tool for more power for this collectivist communist left. That is it. The sole principle in their triage of needs was power, and he was a useful tool to get there.’

Fox News contributor Peter D’Abrosca participated in this report, and Taylor Penley serves as an associate editor for Fox News Digital, contributing to FOX Business and covering media, culture, and Flash.