A Maine Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Graham Platner, denied a sexual assault allegation reported by Politico, while the campaign cut back on events saying he was “not feeling well.” The accusation involves an incident described by a woman identified as Je
For days, Graham Platner’s campaign had been pulling back—canceling events, including one planned for the 4th of July, with a brief explanation that the candidate was “not feeling well.” Then came the Monday bombshell.
Politico reported that Platner. now the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine. was accused of sexual assault by a woman he dated some five years ago. The outlet described the allegation in detail. saying it came from interviews conducted with the woman over the past two weeks. The woman, a 41-year-old Maine resident named Jenny Racicot, told the outlet about what she says happened.
In the account Politico published. Racicot said she and Platner had an on-and-off relationship for more than two years before he entered her rural Maine home uninvited one night in late 2021. She alleged he was deeply intoxicated and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop. Racicot said she cut off contact with him after telling her that the encounter was not consensual.
The report also said Politico spoke with a man Racicot dated and confided in years after the alleged incident. and reviewed documents including emails between Racicot and her therapist. along with messages from Racicot to an acquaintance warning them against getting involved with Platner years before he ran for office.
Platner denied the allegation. In a statement to the outlet, he said: “Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue.”
The sexual assault accusation lands on top of a campaign already roiled by controversy. Revelations of bigoted and bombastic social media posts were first reported on by CNN and were later followed by the disclosure that Platner had a notorious Nazi symbol tattooed on his chest. Platner denied knowing the symbol was related to Nazis. a position that was widely rebuked by people close to him. including past girlfriends who say he told them the symbol had Nazi associations.
In early June. the New York Times reported that several women who dated Platner in the past found his behavior “unsettling.” The Times reported that the women said Platner “could be charming and charismatic. ” but also demeaning to women and. in at least one case. even physically threatening. It added that he drank heavily and was regularly unfaithful.
Quickly after the Politico report was published, Platner released a video clip again denying the allegations. In that clip, he said he would take time to “reflect on the best way forward.”
The sequence of cancellations. denials. and new allegations has turned Platner’s campaign into a test of how voters weigh credibility when multiple crises arrive close together—first around conduct described by former partners and then. now. around an allegation of non-consensual assault described by Racicot in the period leading up to and following the candidate’s entry into the race.
Graham Platner Maine U.S. Senate Politico Jenny Racicot sexual assault allegation Democratic nominee 4th of July event cancelled Nazi symbol tattoo bigoted social media posts