Graham Platner Loses His Major Backers After Rape Allegation

Top Democrats from both wings of the party called on Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner to drop out after a new sexual assault allegation against him was made public Monday—an all-but-certain death knell for his campaign.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., whose early support boosted Platner’s campaign, rescinded their endorsements, while the Senate Democratic campaign arm and the Maine Democratic Party both called on Platner to step aside in the race after a woman who dated Platner accused him of raping her.

Platner, calling the allegation “serious, troubling and false,” said in a video statement posted to X shortly after the story broke in Politico that his campaign is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.”

The woman, 41-year-old Maine resident Jenny Racicot, who dated Platner on-and-off about five years ago, told Politico he came to her home drunk and uninvited one night in 2021 and forced himself on her while she was on a couch.

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

She said Platner then followed her into her bedroom and had sex with her against her will.

After the Politico story was published, Racicot repeated her description of the incident in a CNN interview later Monday, telling the network, “this is something that I tried for many years to forget.”

Politico reported that it obtained multiple messages between Racicot and others that appeared to corroborate her claims, including conversations between herself and her therapist discussing the incident. She also shared a Facebook exchange with an acquaintance in 2023 who she warned not to get involved with Platner, calling him “consensually careless” and saying he “doesn’t listen to you when drunk.” She also reportedly told a man she dated after Platner about the alleged assault in 2023. The man, who asked to remain anonymous, recounted details to Politico that matched Racicot’s story.

Maine Democrats can replace Platner on the ballot if he drops out before July 13. The party must select his replacement by July 27. The nominee will face Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the general election. The race was expected to be highly competitive and one of Democrats’ best chances to flip a seat. It is the only state won by Kamala Harris in the most recent election held by a Republican senator. Platner ran uncontested in the Maine Democratic primary last month after Democrat Gov. Janet Mills effectively ended her campaign in April. A first-time candidate, U.S. military veteran and oyster farmer, Platner billed himself as the working class candidate and denounced billionaires, gaining the support of prominent progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who has not commented on the rape allegation as of Tuesday morning.

Before the Politico story broke Monday, multiple outlets reported Platner cancelled three events scheduled for Sunday and Monday, with some citing unnamed sources who said he was anticipating another negative story. Platner has faced multiple allegations of reckless and drunken behavior and disturbing behavior toward women since launching his campaign in August. Several women who had relationships with Platner described unsettling and volatile interactions with him in an article published in The New York Times last month. One of the women, Lyndsy Fifield, said Platner was physically rough with her at times while drinking, allegations he denied. She also said he knew the tattoo on his chest, which he has since covered, was a Nazi symbol, despite publicly denying knowing its meaning. Fifield’s allegations were widely questioned since she has worked for conservative groups and Republican politicians. Racicot, a Democrat, also described to The Times an “unsettling” and “reckless” experience with Platner when he came to her house drunk in 2021, but declined to elaborate. She told Politico she didn’t come forward to The Times because she agrees with Platner’s politics, and said she decided to do so after the Times story published, because Fifield’s allegations dominated the storyline and were discredited by some over her Republican ties. Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, who he married in 2023, also caught him sending sexually explicit messages to multiple other women last year—revelations first made public in May in the Wall Street Journal and confirmed publicly by Gertner, who said the couple had repaired their marriage.