Graham Platner released a video message denying a new allegation of sexual assault from a woman he previously dated on Monday, minutes after the release of an article detailing the woman’s accusations.
The woman, a 41-year-old Maine resident named Jenny Racicot, dated Platner in 2021 and told Politico that he entered her home uninvited while heavily intoxicated and repeatedly forced himself on her. She claimed that Platner, now running for U.S. Senate, grabbed her and was “being really forceful” during the encounter.
Platner flatly denied the allegations in a video posted to X, after canceling a number of planned campaign appearances, calling the woman’s accusations “troubling, serious, and false.”
“Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false,” said Platner, facing directly to camera.
But the latest report from Politico follows a line of reporting into the Maine Senate candidate’s past that has slowly eroded his popularity and favorable image among voters in the state. A previous report from The New York Times in early June detailed experiences that women who dated Platner said they found troubling or concerning, and older reporting during the primary detailed a history of off-color comments, including sexist remarks, on his Reddit account.
Maine’s Democratic Party chapter released a statement on Monday afternoon, calling on Platner to “withdraw as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.”
“Over the past several weeks, multiple women have made serious, credible allegations about Graham Platner. Today’s statements take those allegations even further,” read the statement signed by the party’s chair, vice chair and executive director.
“This Senate race comes at a pivotal moment in the struggle against a government, supported by Senator Collins, that serves the interests of the wealthy and the powerful at the expense of ordinary Maine people. It is essential that we refocus the campaign on that struggle,” the statement continued.
The Times story prompted damage control efforts by the Platner campaign including assurances to senators on Capitol Hill that there were no further damaging headlines coming that could derail Democrats’ best and perhaps only shot at winning the Maine Senate seat held by Susan Collins, providing a path to the majority this cycle.
On a Discord server linked to Platner’s campaign on social media and in private conversations, some former fans of Platner suggested that Troy Jackson, a former Maine state senator who ran unsuccessfully in the June gubernatorial primary with the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders, could jump into the race if Platner withdrew.
“[Mills] could unsuspend her campaign…but then there’d be the backlash that would inevitably ensue because he was he’s viewed as somebody that’s quite different than her,” a Maine Democratic source told The Independent on Monday.
“This is an incredibly difficult situation, no matter how you look at it,” said that source. “If he stays in the race, there’s– I think if you’re hoping for a Democratic victory, there’s the idea that maybe time and space will adjust, but this allegation certainly feels worse than the others, and not that the others weren’t terrible to begin with.”
In his video statement on Monday the candidate indicated that he and his team were taking time to reflect and decide a path forward, stating that while he maintained the allegations were false, he did not want to put his party at a disadvantage in November. With Maine’s filing deadline only days away, Democrats would need to begin immediately searching and recruiting candidates for an alternative bid.
“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it 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,” said Platner.
His victory in Maine’s Senate primary last month was all but assured after the state’s incumbent governor, Janet Mills, effectively dropped out of the race following months of trailing Platner badly in the polls. Platner’s supporters, the party’s progressive wing, argued that his candidacy was the only one capturing the excitement and energy necessary to take down Collins, making him far more electable than his opponent.
Monday’s news and Platner’s decision to take a moment to gauge that very question of electability had many, not just Mills’ supporters, fuming that such questions should have been answered already.
“I’m sorry but “we are taking time to reflect on the best path forward” is not an option on the table. Either it’s false and you campaign with vigor or it’s true and you get out / apologize to everyone you let down,” tweeted The Bulwark pundit Tim Miller.
If Platner remains in the race, Maine is likely to be one of the most expensive races of the cycle as Republican leadership is prepared to spend hundreds of millions to keep Collins, 73, in her seat for a sixth term.
