A Woman Accused Maine Senate Candidate Platner Of Sexual Assault. Democrats Are Scrambling To Force Him Out

Maine Senate Democratic candidate Graham Platner is facing calls to drop out of the race from prominent members of the party following a rape accusation.

Platner, 41, a combat veteran and self-described oyster farmer, is taking on longtime Republican incumbent Susan Collins in a race considered to be a crucial battleground in the midterm elections if the Democrats hope to win a Senate majority.

However, Platner is now facing calls to drop out after Politico published a story in which 41-year-old Maine resident named Jenny Racicot said he assaulted her. Racicot also gave an interview with CNN to expand on the allegations, which Platner has denied.

Racicot, who had been in an on-again, off-again relationship with Platner, told CNN that he showed up one night in 2021 unannounced. She said that her front door was unlocked and her entered her home.

“I looked at him and I remember this very specific look in his eyes. I could smell alcohol and I was like, ‘This is different. He is heavily intoxicated,'” she told CNN. “That blank stare was like a photographic memory that I still have of that night.”

According to Racicot, Platner immediately became physically aggressive. Racicot told CNN that she repeatedly asked him to stop, but he didn’t.

“He violated multiple layers of consent that night. By coming into my home when I asked him not to, and by advancing on me when I told him not to, and furthermore, another incident that I had told him not to do,” Racicot told CNN, referring to his alleged refusal to use protection. “In that moment, I evaluated my safety. … I basically felt safest just complying.”

As part of its reporting, Politico said that it had reviewed documents such as emails between Racicot and her therapist, as well as messages between Racicot and an acquaintance. The website also interviewed a man Racicot dated and confided in years after the incident.

In a video statement, Platner denied the allegation but also said that he was “taking time to reflect on the best path forward.”

“These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue,” he said in a statement.

The allegation brought swift rebuke from many Democrats who called for Platner to drop out of the race, including the Maine Democratic Party.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and DSCC Chair Senator Kirsten Gillibrand also called for Platner to drop out.

“The allegations reported today are incredibly disturbing – violence, abuse and sexual assault are absolutely unacceptable,” the pair said in a joint statement. “The DSCC will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot.”

The rape allegation is the latest in a series of challenges the Platner campaign has faced.

In June, the New York Times published a story quoting several women who had dated Platner. In the story, they called his behavior “toxic” and “unsettling.” In May, it came out that Platner had been sexting with numerous women after his marriage in 2023.

Previously, Politico reported that Platner had made posts on Reddit in which he suggested that victims of sexual assault should take more responsibility and that white rural Americans are stupid. Platner apologized for the posts.