A woman who dated Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner has accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2021, according to a report published Monday, marking the most serious allegation to emerge against the Democrat during his campaign to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins.
The woman, 41-year-old Jenny Racicot, a Maine resident, told reporters that Platner entered her home uninvited while intoxicated in late 2021 and forced her to have sex despite her repeatedly telling him to stop. Racicot said she and Platner had dated on and off for about two years before the alleged incident. “I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” she recalled. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.'”
Platner flatly denied the allegation. “These allegations are troubling, serious, and false,” he said in a statement. “Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue.” He also released a video to supporters, saying he and his campaign are “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.”
The allegation comes as polling indicates significant vulnerability for Platner among Maine voters. According to one survey, seventy-five percent of voters said Platner should drop out of the race if another negative story about his personal life surfaced, with just twenty percent saying he should remain on the ballot.
To support her account, Racicot provided reporters with evidence including recent email exchanges with her therapist discussing her decision to come forward, as well as Facebook messages from 2023 between her and an acquaintance warning against getting involved with Platner. Reporters also spoke with a man Racicot subsequently dated, to whom she had confided about the alleged assault years earlier.
Racicot explained that she initially hesitated to come forward publicly because she did not want to be known as a rape victim. She said she decided to speak out after another woman’s account in an earlier report seemed to overshadow her own experience. “My part of the story was just a read-over,” she said, referring to how her account was mentioned in a New York Times article published in early June. “And the story was Lyndsey, and the accusations of her being politically motivated.”
That June article detailed allegations from multiple women who said Platner engaged in emotionally volatile, demeaning, and sometimes physically aggressive behavior. One former girlfriend alleged that Platner regularly grabbed her by the shoulders and made threatening comments. Platner disputed those serious allegations while acknowledging he was “a bad boyfriend a decade ago.”
The new accusation represents a dramatic escalation in scrutiny of Platner, a Marine veteran and oyster farmer who won the Democratic primary in June with more than seventy percent of the vote despite mounting controversies. His campaign has faced a series of scandals in recent months, including reports that he sent sexually explicit text messages to multiple women while married, controversies over offensive social media posts from years past, and scrutiny over a tattoo critics said resembled a Nazi symbol.
Platner has blamed his past behavior on undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder and heavy drinking during a difficult period after his military service. He has said he sought help and rebuilt his life, while maintaining that the most serious allegations against him are false.
The timing of the accusation is particularly significant given Maine election law. Platner faces a deadline of five p.m. on Monday, July 13 to withdraw as the Democratic nominee. If he withdraws by that date, the Maine Democratic Party can replace him on the November general election ballot through its internal process, with a replacement candidate required to be chosen by July 27. If he remains the nominee past the July 13 deadline, the party generally loses its ability to substitute another candidate except in limited circumstances.
Platner’s campaign abruptly cancelled multiple town hall events scheduled for the Fourth of July weekend and early July, citing that Platner was not feeling well. The cancelled events preceded the public release of the allegations by less than a day.
Despite the accumulating controversies, Platner has shown no indication he intends to withdraw from the race. His campaign has characterized the accusations as politically motivated attempts by establishment figures and opponents to force him out before the ballot deadline.
The Maine Senate race is considered among the most competitive in the country and is viewed as a crucial opportunity for Democrats seeking to gain control of the Senate. Platner’s race against Collins, the incumbent Republican senator, is expected to attract significant spending and national attention heading into November.
