Left-wing Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is "taking the time to reflect on the best path forward" after an ex-girlfriend accused him of drunkenly entering her house uninvited and raping her in 2021.
The woman, 41-year-old Jenny Racicot, told Politico that she had texted Platner before the encounter and "told him not to come over." She later heard an "almost blackout drunk" Platner "let himself into her house, which was unlocked." Platner "followed her to her bedroom and had sex with her against her will" and "ejaculated inside of her despite her telling him not to, as he was not using birth control."
"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.’"
Platner's campaign denied the allegations in a statement shared with Politico, calling them politically motivated and "coordinated by out of state establishment operatives." Platner went on to release a videotaped statement to X in which he says he's "taking time to reflect on the best path forward."
"Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false," Platner said. "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."
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 6, 2026
Platner, who has said victims of sexual assault should "just take some responsibility for themselves and not get so f—ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don't mean to," initially faced allegations of abuse in a New York Times article published last month. The piece focused on the allegations of another ex-girlfriend, Lyndsey Fifield, who said Platner "twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom and held the door closed from the other side so she couldn't get out."
Racicot was also quoted in the article, describing the same 2021 incident in which Platner "arrived at her house drunk, after she had asked him not to come over." She did not accuse Platner of rape at that time, instead saying she "cut off contact soon after that episode and found his behavior 'reckless' and 'unsettling.'"
Racicot said she came forward because of the reaction to the Times story. Platner's supporters accused Fifield, who has worked for Republican organizations, of concocting a politically motivated smear to take down Platner and boost his Republican opponent, incumbent senator Susan Collins.
"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."
The Democratic Party could choose a replacement for Platner if he exits the race by 5 p.m. Eastern on July 13.
