A 41-year-old woman who accused Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner of sexually assaulting her five years ago has hurled his campaign into disarray and prompted numerous Democrats to urge him to withdraw from the ballot.
A Maine resident named Jenny Racicot said that Platner, a combat veteran whom she dated on and off for a couple of years, entered her home uninvited while under the influence one night in 2021 and assaulted her, according to a report from Politico published Monday.
“I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” Racicot told Politico. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, ‘This is no longer my choice.’”
Moments after the Politico report was published, Platner released a video rejecting the claims.
“Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false,” he said in the video posted to social media.
“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, we’re mindful the political reality will inflict,” Platner added. “We are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins.”
Platner’s campaign also denied the allegation in a statement to HuffPost, framing it as a calculated, politically motivated attack against him.
“For a year, opponents of this campaign have thrown everything they can at Graham –– calling him a Nazi, a war criminal, and a communist. None of it has been true and this is no different,” the statement read. “It is not a coincidence that this story comes a week before the ballot deadline, just as the previous false allegations came a week before the primary. Graham began this campaign to fight for a Maine where everyone is treated with dignity and where Mainers are put first, and no amount of desperate smears will stop this movement from seeing that vision through.”
Platner’s campaign has been marked by a series of controversies, including a tattoo of a Nazi symbol, which has since been removed, explicit text messages he sent to women who weren’t his wife and misogynistic comments he posted about rape online.
The New York Times reported early last month, before Platner won the primary, that several women who used to date him experienced troublesome behavior from him, including infidelity, heavy drinking and more.
“I take responsibility for all of that, and wish I had been better. Any characterization beyond that is false, and I believe, politically motivated,” Platner said in a statement to HuffPost in response. “I’m not proud of who I was then, but I am proud of the work I’ve done since, and the movement we are building in Maine.”
Days later, Platner won the Democratic Senate primary in Maine on June 9, defeating Gov. Janet Mills and professor David Costello. He is set to face off against GOP candidate Susan Collins in the fall, unless he removes himself from the ballot by the deadline next Monday.
Maine Democratic Party leadership has called on him to end his candidacy.
“Over the past several weeks, multiple women have made serious, credible allegations against Graham Platner. Today’s statements take those allegations even further,” Chair Charlie Dingman, Vice Chair Imke Schessler and Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson of the Maine Democratic Party said in a statement. “Maine Democratic Party leadership is calling on Graham Platner to withdraw as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.”
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also threatened to discontinue funding Maine’s Senate race if Platner doesn’t step aside.
“The allegations reported today are incredibly disturbing – violence, abuse and sexual assault are absolutely unacceptable,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the chair of the DSCC, said in a statement.
“Graham Platner needs to immediately withdraw as the Democratic nominee for Senate and allow Maine Democrats the opportunity to choose a new candidate who can defeat Susan Collins,” the statement continued. “The DSCC will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot.”
Citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter on Monday evening, The New York Times reported that Platner would only consider withdrawing from the race “with a guarantee of being replaced by a candidate who he believes is true to the values and vision and policy agenda of the campaign that Maine voted for.”
After the Politico story was published, Democrats almost immediately began withdrawing their support.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who campaigned with Platner, called on him to step aside.
“Now more than ever we need leaders in Washington who reflect our values. There can be no tolerance for sexual assault,” Warren said.
Likewise, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Sens. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Mark Kelly of Arizona also pulled their endorsements and called on him to quit his campaign.
“I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line,” Khanna said. “These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.”
In separate statements, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations, but fell short of calling on Platner to withdraw.
Platner has also lost support outside of Congress.
Leftist influencer Hasan Piker, a previous defender of Platner and his controversies, distanced himself, saying “that is curtains” for Platner and that the allegations are “irredeemable.”
“The allegations reported today are profoundly disturbing and disqualifying. The conduct described is fundamentally inconsistent with the standards we expect from candidates,” Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United, said in a statement, also calling on him to withdraw from the race.
HuffPost reached out to both Mills and Collins for comment but did not immediately hear back.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.