Graham Platner, Accused of Rape, Still Has Maine Backers

WATERVILLE, Maine — Supporters of Graham Platner are still mourning the disgraced politician’s departure from the Senate race, just days before the election, worrying that his replacement lacks the star power needed to energize the Democratic base.

Nearly four months after a rape accusation forced Platner out of the contest, local Democrats gathered at a rally for his replacement, Troy Jackson, and acknowledged that they wished Platner were still on the ballot. Some also expressed regret that his political career had been cut short.

“The establishment did not want him to be out there mobilizing people who had never voted before, just for change,” former Waterville Mayor Karen Heck told The Post at a Jackson town hall Monday.

“It’s another example of innuendo taking somebody down who was popular,” she said. “Not to say you don’t believe women, but there were circumstances around that allegation that were never investigated … the prosecutor should actually believe women and bring those cases forward.”

Many attendees at Jackson’s rally said they hoped Platner would eventually run for office again. They miss the energy and large crowds generated by the scandal-plagued candidate compared with Jackson’s quieter political presence, even as they were careful not to dismiss the accusations against Platner.

Heck said the timing of the report on Jenny Racicot’s rape accusation against Platner, which emerged just before the deadline for him to withdraw, seemed suspicious. She also questioned why Platner had not been prosecuted if the allegation was credible.

Asked about Jackson replacing Platner, Heck paused before reluctantly answering, “I’m going to vote for him.” Jackson later singled her out during his town hall, suggesting the two were acquainted.

Platner’s rise in Democratic politics had been meteoric. Running as a gritty veteran and oyster farmer who would stand up for ordinary people, he easily defeated the establishment-backed former Gov. Janet Mills in the Democratic primary. He quickly became an early favorite to challenge longtime Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and supporters argued that he offered the strongest chance of becoming the first Democrat to win a Maine Senate seat since 1988.

Nearly every Jackson supporter who spoke with The Post about Maine’s fiercely competitive Senate race voiced some frustration over Platner’s collapse. Most have rallied behind Jackson since he replaced their preferred candidate, but they acknowledged that the former logger has not generated the same excitement Platner brought to the campaign.

Racicot accused Platner of entering her home while intoxicated in the middle of the night in 2021 and forcing himself on her. Platner strongly denied the allegation but withdrew from the race after support from Democratic leaders evaporated.

The accusation followed a series of controversies involving Platner, including a Nazi tattoo on his chest, revelations that he had cheated on his current wife — whom he married three years ago — and the emergence of disturbing, sexually explicit posts from his Reddit history. He also faced allegations that he had been physically rough with former girlfriends, among other claims.

Before Racicot made her accusation days ahead of the withdrawal deadline — allowing Democrats to replace him with relative ease — Platner had managed to withstand the mounting controversies and retain substantial support.

“Unfortunately, we had such a small window at that time. I was upset with the Dems,” Wanda Fortin, a local resident who attended Monday’s Jackson event, told The Post. “The way it all came down, I just thought it was pretty unfair.”

Fortin likewise suspected that Democratic operatives may have influenced the timing of the report about Racicot’s accusation. She argued that Platner’s scandals appeared less serious when compared with “what we’ve got in the White House.”

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“In hindsight, he’s gonna have to clear his name a bit, but I’m hopeful that he’ll come back into politics because I think he’s a good guy,” Fortin said. “I think he could shed some of that negativity that surrounds him.”

Before the rape accusation surfaced, Democratic primary voters had largely brushed aside the other controversies surrounding Platner.

“Platner never denied that he had some tough times. And you don’t send somebody to war and have them killing people and then think they’re coming back okay,” said Barbara Van Burgel, who was seated beside Fortin. “Unfortunately, we didn’t do much to help them, did we?”

Platner has largely stayed out of public view since his rapid political downfall. Rumors that he might appear at a Labor Day event ultimately went nowhere, underscoring how politically toxic he remains.

The Post spotted him on the water this week.

“What the f— does it look like I’m up to? I’m being an oyster farmer,” Platner growled to The Post, referring to his work supplying oysters to his mother’s restaurant.

When Jackson took over, he had just over 100 days to throw together a campaign.

Jackson, who served in the Maine Senate for 16 years, worked as a logger and had kids with his second cousin, has been known to get hot under the collar. He even snapped “shut up†at Collins during a debate.  

Jackson has largely refrained from dwelling on the Platner debacle, despite stumping with the oyster farmer before the rape accusation emerged. He’s sought to carry the torch that Platner lit – with limited success.

“You are right. I didn’t build this movement,” he told a voter in September. “I’ve been saying that all along. This isn’t about Troy Jackson. But I don’t even think this is about Graham. I think it’s about people across this state that know there’s something fundamentally wrong with the way things are going.†

Lefty Democrats had pushed for Jackson, who finished third in the Maine Democratic gubernatorial primary, to take over from Platner due to his similar politics and endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

Still, some Democrats were relieved Platner was pushed off the ticket.

“I was very, very anti-Graham Platner at the time. I’ve never met anyone who had Nazi tattoos for 30 years and turned out to be a good person,” Beckett Stratter, a student at Colby University, which is located in Waterville, Maine, said. Stratter votes in Wisconsin.

Maine’s Senate race is one of the most competitive in the country and a prime pickup opportunity for Democrats given that incumbent Collins is running in a blue state.

At the moment, Jackson has a 1.2 percentage point edge over Collins in the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of polls.