Maine Democratic Senate nominee reportedly considers dropping out after rape accusation, denies allegation

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story contains allegations of sexual assault.

A Maine woman says Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, forced her to have sex with him against her will nearly five years ago. Platner has denied the rape allegation but is reportedly considering dropping out of his race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Jenny Racicot, 41, told POLITICO in an exclusive set of three interviews over the past two weeks that she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for more than two years before he entered her rural Maine home uninvited one night in late 2021, deeply intoxicated, and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop. She said she cut off contact with him after telling him the encounter was not consensual. 

“I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” Racicot said. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’”

Racicot said she connected with Platner on the dating app Bumble in 2019 and had consensual relations with him before the alleged assault. On the night in question in late 2021, she said she had exchanged text messages with him telling him not to come over, then realized he had let himself into her unlocked house after hearing a sound on the stairs.

Platner came up the stairs to where she was sitting on a couch, got on top of her and kept grabbing her while she repeatedly told him to stop, she said. She said she smelled alcohol on his breath and believed he was “almost blackout drunk” because he ignored her protests and kept grabbing her even after knocking over an antique sewing kit, spilling needles everywhere. 

“I had been telling him these words, like: ‘No, don't,’” Racicot said. “And, 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.”

The next morning, she said, she asked Platner if he remembered what happened, and he said he did not; she told him to leave and never contact her again.

Racicot said she waited several weeks to confirm she was not pregnant, then sent Platner a message on Instagram telling him the encounter was not consensual and that she did not want to hear from him again. She said she had no further contact with him after that and has since been unable to recover the Instagram messages. 

POLITICO also spoke with a man Racicot dated after the alleged incident, who said Racicot had confided the full details of what happened in 2023 and whose account matched what Racicot described to the outlet. POLITICO reviewed 2023 Facebook messages in which Racicot warned an acquaintance against getting involved with Platner, describing him as “consensually careless” and saying he “doesn't listen to you when drunk,” along with emails between Racicot and her therapist about the alleged assault. The acquaintance confirmed receiving the messages but declined further comment. The therapist also declined to comment. 

Why Racicot is speaking out now 

Racicot said she previously told The New York Times about “reckless” and “unsettling” behavior by Platner but did not disclose the assault allegation at the time because she didn't want to be known as a rape victim. She said she decided to come forward now in part because coverage following the Times story focused heavily on another woman, Lyndsey Fifield, who had alleged mistreatment by Platner and faced scrutiny over her ties to the Republican Party.

“My part of the story was just a read-over,” Racicot told POLITICO. “And the story was Lyndsey, and the accusations of her being politically motivated.”

Racicot said she also struggled with the decision to come forward because she agrees with Platner's politics. “I just want the truth out there. I just want people to have a whole scope of who he is as a person,” she said. 

Platner campaign responds 

The Platner campaign, in a statement, called the allegations “coached and coordinated by out of state establishment operatives” and noted the report's timing a week before Maine's ballot deadline. 

“None of it has been true and this is no different,” the campaign said, adding that “no amount of desperate smears will stop this movement.”

Platner, an oysterman and political newcomer who launched his campaign last August, won the Democratic primary last month by a wide margin. He has not previously been accused of sexual assault, though his campaign has faced earlier controversies, including allegations from other women of mistreatment. He has attributed some past behavior to mental health struggles and alcohol abuse. 

In a video posted to the social platform X from his campaign account, Platner repeated that the allegations are “troubling, serious and false” and that “any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false,” while calling the report inaccurate and politically motivated. He said he and his campaign are "taking the time to reflect on the best path forward" for his candidacy. 

Axios reported that Platner stopped short of saying he would end his campaign but indicated he is weighing its future as he seeks to unseat Collins. 

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said on X that he was withdrawing his backing of Platner. 

“The allegations against Graham Platner are troubling and deeply serious. I am rescinding my endorsement,” Gallego wrote. 

Joshua Mercer, vice president of advocacy at CatholicVote, told Zeale, “Rescinding endorsements are a telltale sign that a political party is getting ready to ditch a candidate.” 

Report of a looming withdrawal

The Washington Reporter, citing a well-placed Senate source, reported July 6 that Platner is expected to drop out of the race, giving Maine Democrats time to select a replacement ahead of a July 13 deadline to withdraw a nominee. The outlet said it was the first to report Platner's plans, publishing hours before POLITICO's sexual assault allegation became public. 

“A well-placed source told us that Graham Platner is dropping out of the Maine Senate race this week," the Washington Reporter article stated, and noted that Platner had not yet released his second-quarter fundraising totals, which the outlet said could be a sign he underperformed expectations. 

The Washington Reporter was told that the sexual assault allegation against Platner was being pushed by Democrats as the July 13 withdrawal deadline approached. 

Sources described by the outlet as high-ranking said Platner's departure from the race is a "fait accompli."