Kevin McCarthy Insists Republicans Always ‘Walked Away’ From Their ‘Very Bad’ Candidates

Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy claimed Republicans have consistently “walked away” from “very bad” candidates in response to new allegations against Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner.

A report in Politico on Monday detailed accusations from Jenny Racicot, a Maine resident who dated Platner for more than two years. Racicot said she cut off contact with Platner after he entered her home, intoxicated, in late 2021 and “forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop.”

Platner denied the allegations in a video address but announced he would be pausing his Senate campaign to “reflect on the best path forward.”

Democratic lawmakers, among them some of Platner’s most ardent supporters, such as Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), frantically jumped ship and backtracked on their endorsements amid the allegations.

McCarthy joined Fox News’ Charlie Hurt to hypothesize about the fate of the Democratic Party in Maine’s Senate race if Platner withdraws.

“It sounds a lot like [Joe] Biden,” McCarthy said. “So, they’re going to pivot and go to Kamala Harris because I think, had they had a primary, Kamala Harris would not have won. So, the person they select now probably wouldn’t be able to win a primary, and it gives the people in Maine a very short amount of time to really learn who they are.”

Hurt asked McCarthy if he thinks Maine voters will hold the Democratic Party responsible for this disarray.

While McCarthy said “only time will tell,” he added that Maine voters “should” hold the party responsible.

“You just listened to the individual, here, that, terrible what happened to her, her own friends knew and would still vote for him because they just want to win,” he said, referring to Racicot’s Monday night interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper.

As Hurt agreed, calling it a “true mind virus,” McCarthy praised the Republican Party for allegedly shunning such candidates.

“Look, we’re celebrating 250 years, the one thing I know about Republicans, when we had a very bad candidate and found out, we didn’t vote for that person,” McCarthy claimed. “We walked away. When Matt Gaetz came forward, we got rid of him.”

Gaetz has been accused of sexual misconduct with a minor and illicit drug use. Nonetheless, President Donald Trump nominated Gaetz for Attorney General, though Gaetz dropped out amid widespread backlash.

However, several Republicans currently hold office despite allegations against them.

Trump was elected to his second presidential term shortly after a $5 million civil court verdict found him liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll and subsequently defaming her. In June 2026, the Supreme Court declined to hear Trump’s appeal seeking to overturn the verdict.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has faced not only a federal corruption investigation but also accusations of extramarital affairs. His estranged wife, Angela Paxton, filed for divorce in 2025 on “biblical grounds.”

Trump endorsed former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore when he ran for Senate in 2017, despite multiple accusations of child molestation.

Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) allegedly assaulted a former girlfriend, Sarah Raviani, in D.C. last February. Another former girlfriend, Lindsey Langston, sought a restraining order against him in Florida, saying he threatened to release nude photos and videos of her.

Watch above via Fox News.

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