The progressive denied the allegation, but his days as a Maine Senate candidate could be numbered

The Senate campaign of Maine candidate Graham Platner is in question following a disturbing new sexual assault allegation. According to new reporting from Politico, a woman who dated Platner between 2019 and 2021 says the Marine turned oyster farmer forced her to have sex with him while he was drunk.

In a video message released following the report on Monday, Platner said that the allegations were “troubling, serious, and false,” and that he and his campaign will “reflect on the best path forward.”

“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality this will inflict, 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 won the state’s Democratic primary last month despite several controversies, setting up a showdown with Republican incumbent Susan Collins. The ballot deadline is a week away, on July 13. If Platner drops out before then, Democrats have until July 27 to replace him.

Platner’s campaign abruptly cancelled a series of scheduled events ahead of Politico’s report on Monday.

The woman accusing Platner –- 41-year-old Jenny Racicot, a resident of Maine — told Politico that she dated Platner sporadically for a period of about two years. She described an incident in 2021 in which Platner arrived at her home uninvited “almost blackout drunk,” and forced her into sex while ignoring her protests. Racicot alleged that Platner ejaculated in her despite her not being on birth control and pleading with him not to. 

“The look on his face and realizing what was happening, I just realized that, like, I am in a situation where there’s no consent here,” she said. She says Platner claimed not to recall the incident when she confronted him the next morning, and she broke off the relationship and ceased contact shortly after confirming she was not pregnant.

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In order to corroborate her story, Racicot provided Politico with recent email exchanges between herself and her therapist  in which she discussed potentially coming forward and seeking corroboration of her allegations. Politico also spoke to a subsequent partner of Racicot’s who said she described the assault to him in 2023, two years before Platner announced his candidacy. Racicot also provided the outlet with Facebook messages from 2023 between herself and an acquaintance who had been set up on a date with Platner. “He can be charming and funny, and he’s a decently intelligent person, he’s not all bad, but I ended up in a bad situation with him and I will just very politely call him consensually careless at times […] when drunk,” she wrote.  

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For months now, the Platner campaign has battled a series of scandals that have destabilized the Democrats position in the must-win Senate race. Platner has so far weathered them, winning the primary and polling well against Collins. Early on in his campaign, he was forced to cover up a tattoo of a Nazi skull he claims he unknowingly selected as a flash tattoo while deployed in Croatia. Platner’s old Reddit posts were riddled with sexism and homophobia. In June, The New York Times’ reported that Platner behaved in an “unsettling” manner in some of his past romantic relationships, including claims that he roughly grabbed one of his ex girlfriends and locked her in a room during an argument.

Racicot’s sexual assault allegation is the most damning charge yet against Platner, and may ultimately spell the end of his campaign.