Graham Platner, the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, is facing a serious new allegation ahead of one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country. A Maine woman has gone on the record claiming Platner sexually assaulted her in late 2021, an allegation he categorically denies.
The Woman Behind the Allegation
The allegations were first reported by Politico, which conducted three interviews with Racicot and reviewed supporting documents including messages and emails. Jenny Racicot, 41, says she and Platner met on the dating app Bumble in 2019 and maintained an on-and-off consensual relationship for more than two years. She says that changed one night in late 2021 when Platner arrived at her rural Maine home uninvited, having let himself in through an unlocked door, and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop.
'I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, this is no longer my choice,' she said.
Racicot says she told him to leave the following morning and subsequently sent him a private message making clear the encounter had not been consensual. She has not had contact with him since.
She did not go to the police at the time, citing shock, confusion and fear of retaliation. She instead confided in her therapist, whom she continues to see, and later told a former partner the full details of what had allegedly happened. That former partner's account of what Racicot had told him was consistent with her own. Racicot also privately warned an acquaintance against getting involved with Platner in 2023, describing him in messages as someone who does not listen when drunk.
Racicot says she had previously shared details of the alleged incident off the record with journalists but felt her account had been overshadowed by a separate controversy involving another woman. She decided to speak publicly because she felt voters deserved a fuller picture.
'I just want people to have a whole scope of who he is as a person,' she said.
Notably, Racicot says her decision to come forward was complicated by the fact that she broadly agrees with Platner's politics. 'One of the reasons I didn't come forward sooner was the huge moral conflict between supporting his politics but not supporting him as a person,' she said.
Platner's Flat Denial
Platner has rejected the allegations in unambiguous terms. 'These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behaviour is categorically untrue,' he said.
His campaign went further, characterising the allegation as part of a coordinated effort by outside political operatives to derail his candidacy. Pointing to the timing of the accusation, one week before a key ballot deadline, his team said opponents had spent a year attempting to destroy the campaign through a series of false claims. 'No amount of desperate smears will stop this movement,' the campaign said.
A Candidate Already Under Scrutiny
Platner's rise from political newcomer to Democratic Senate nominee has been remarkable but turbulent. The Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran won last month's Democratic primary to face incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins, a contest that has drawn national attention and significant outside spending.
His campaign has previously been shadowed by controversy over offensive online comments and separate allegations from another woman regarding his treatment of her, all of which he has denied. Platner has previously acknowledged past struggles with alcohol and mental health, saying he has changed.
He has not been charged with any criminal offence. The allegation remains disputed and no independent verification of the specific incident has been established.
