Graham Platner, a Democratic contender for the Senate in Maine, has decided to withdraw from the race following a new accusation of sexual assault, adding fuel to an already blazing fire of controversies.
Despite denying the charges outlined in a Politico article, Platner stepped down after Jenny Racicot’s allegations surfaced on Monday.
In an 11-minute video on social media released Wednesday, Platner reiterated his denial of the allegations, but admitted that the overwhelming pressure led to the difficult decision to cease his campaign.
‘To ensure the movement progresses, it’s evident it must do so without me, prompting the suspension of our campaign,’ he explained.
He clarified that ending the campaign should not be seen as ‘an admission of guilt,’ but rather a consequence of power structures being dismantled by influential figures.
Platner added that ‘large forces’ were working against him ‘to accuse [me] of the worst thing a person could do,’ blaming the ‘corporate media’ and ‘political establishment’ for releasing it.
‘Accusations are supposed to be the beginning of things, not the end.’
Platner says the process to replace him needs to be ‘open, transparent and democratic’ and to reflect the will and values of people who supported him. He also lashed out at Democratic leaders in Washington, DC.
Maine Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner has ended his campaign after an accusation of sexual assault added to an avalanche of prior controversies
Platner bowed out after Jenny Racicot’s allegation on Monday
‘People in DC need to stay in DC,’ Platner said. ‘Decisions should not be made by people in places of political power.’
Maine Democrats have accused Platner of trying to choose his replacement as frantic liberals wait to see if he drops out.
Executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson accused Platner and his team of trying to ‘put his thumb on the scale’ in the choice to replace him.
‘We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner’s team that they have no role in determining our US Senate nominee, nor in determining what this process looks like,’ she said in a video posted to social media.
Murphy-Anderson said that ‘unfortunately, Graham Platner’s team has repeatedly reached out in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like.’
Platner’s team denied the accusation and said they wanted no part in the process, just to make sure that those who voted and volunteered for him were included.
He said he wasn’t leaving the race because of the false allegations but ‘because they are being used by the political establishment to put structural pressure on us.’
State law includes a provision for Democrats to replace Platner before the general election. The state Democratic Party held an emergency meeting Wednesday, where more than 100 state committee members signed off on holding a nominating convention, in the event of Platner’s withdrawal.
Maine Democrats executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson (pictured) accused Platner and his team of trying to ‘put his thumb on the scale’ in the race to replace him
The new accusations were by far the most graphic and caused Platner’s campaign to come tumbling down. He lost one endorsement after another, and national Democratic groups said that they would not invest any money into the race if he remained the nominee.
That prompted the party to hunt for a pick to replace him on the ballot.
Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, epidemiologist Nirav Shah, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, and former congressional candidate Jordan Wood are among those being floated by party insiders as potential picks.
Jackson publicly backed allegations against Platner and called on him to exit the race, saying, ‘There is no place in our politics for sexual violence. Not in our party, not in any party. Graham Platner must withdraw from this race today.’
However, rumors have swirled about ‘troubling information’ regarding Jackson’s behavior.
Jackson has filed paperwork for an exploratory committee for a US Senate campaign, and even emerged as a potential victor over Collins, 49 percent to 44 percent per one poll conducted after the latest Platner revelations.
Racicot, 41, told the outlet she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for more than two years before the night when he showed up to her rural Maine home uninvited in 2021.
Racicot, as well as fellow Platner ex Lindsey Fifield, sat down with CNN to discuss their alleged experiences with him as a partner as well.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner, right, and his wife Amy Gertner gesture to supporters during a primary election night watch party Tuesday, June 9, 2026, in Blue Hill, Maine
Graham Platner and his wife Amy Gertner
Racicot told Politico that she and Platner exchanged messages the night of the attack and she told him not to come over, but later that evening, she heard him letting himself into her unlocked house.
Platner came upstairs to where she was sitting on the couch and appeared to be ‘blackout drunk’ when he ignored her protests and started ‘grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me.’
‘I had been telling him these words, like: ‘No, don’t,” she told Politico. ‘And, the look on his face and realizing what was happening, I just realized that, like, I am in a situation where there’s no consent here.’
Racicot claimed that she tried to get away from Platner by going to her bedroom, but he followed her inside and had sex with her against her will. She said he ejaculated inside her despite her asking him not to because she was not on birth control.
The alleged victim said that she went to the bathroom to clean herself up, and when she returned, Platner was already asleep. The following morning, she confronted him about the encounter, but Platner said he couldn’t remember. She asked him to leave and never contact her again.
Platner, 41, said in a video statement on Monday: ‘I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me. Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false.’
‘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 for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins,’ he added.
‘Those were the goals when I launched this campaign, and they remain my goals today.’
Graham Platner with his Totenkopf tattoo, before he covered it up
The married Iraq war veteran faced an immediate wave of left wing backlash, including from top Democratic lawmakers who pulled their support.
Representative Ro Khanna of California posted on X: ‘I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line. These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.’
Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona posted: ‘The allegations against Graham Platner are troubling and deeply serious. I am rescinding my endorsement.’
Left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who is highly influential among Gen Z, said during his live stream: ‘That is curtains. That is the trifecta. Okay, that is the trifecta of a reliable allegation. It’s holy shit … I believe this, this accusation. I believe this allegation.’
If Platner dropped out of the race, Maine Democrats would have a short window of time to nominate a replacement for Platner, until 5pm on July 27.
He canceled a handful of events on Sunday and Monday, and additional reporting has indicated that he may have fallen short of his Q2 fundraising goals.
Racicot did not use the term ‘rape’ in her description of the encounter with Platner to Politico, but she did use it in a set of email conversations with a therapist when she referred to the incident as ‘sa/rape’, also using the abbreviation for sexual assault.
Racicot had previously described instances of ‘reckless and unsettling’ behavior by Platner in an interview with the New York Times.
Platner has faced scandals since last fall, including the revelation of a Nazi tattoo that he has since covered up
‘When I saw the old comments that he made online,’ she said, ‘I recognized a version of him that I had experiences with.’
The latest allegation is the most graphic, but Platner’s campaign has been plagued with scandals since last fall.
Another ex, Lyndsey Fifield, described several instances of physical intimidation she experienced from Platner to the Times.
Fifield, who worked for the conservative Heritage Foundation, said the two were in a ‘two-year, on-again, off-again relationship.’
Despite insisting that he ‘never hit me, he never punched me,’ Fifield said that Platner could become aggressive, particularly when alcohol was involved.
She told The Times he would regularly grab her by the shoulders — sometimes leaving marks — and once pulled her from a taxi by her wrist during an argument.
Fifield also recalled an incident in which he twisted her arm behind her back, pushed her into a bedroom, and held the door shut, telling her to stay there until she was ‘calm.’
Reflecting on the encounter, Fifield said, ‘It hurt,’ but also told the Times, ‘It didn’t cause an injury, it didn’t break my arm.’
Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner and his wife Amy Gertner
Platner’s Kik profile picture, viewed by the Daily Mail, showed the Democratic candidate posing shirtless and in only a towel
Fifield also noted in her conversations that Platner would also speak about ‘rape’ in an odd and disturbing way.
‘He said this a lot: If anybody ever broke in here, I would rape them,’ she recalled, he added the act would be not be in ‘a sexual way, not in a gay way.’
‘He was like, I would rape them to show them that I’m dominant,’ Fifield said.
She also described how he kept an AR-15 lying around his Washington DC apartment and would sharpen an ax while watching television.
A third woman, a Maine Democrat who asked the Times not to be named, described the candidate as charismatic at times but also prone to heavy bouts of drinking.
She said she felt like ‘collateral damage to the world that is his.’
Democrats are hoping that Platner – an oyster farmer and Marine veteran dubbed one of the ‘rugged guys’ in the 2026 midterms – can win back working-class voters.
He’s looking to upset Republican Senator Susan Collins, but is facing major backlash from members of his own party who fear more scandals could emerge after the salacious texts were revealed.
Platner has faced numerous scandals since last fall, including the revelation of a Nazi tattoo that he has since covered up. Fifield also told the Times that Platner knew what the tattoo meant and called it ‘my Totenkopf.’
Fifield explained to the Times that Platner clearly stated his unit saw themselves as killing machines and drew a parallel with the Nazi Schutzstaffel, or S.S.
‘They literally, deliberately, selected it because it was relevant to their military unit,’ she said.
Controversial Reddit posts also emerged during the course of the campaign, which Platner himself has described as including ‘homophobic slurs, anti-LGBTQ+ jokes and sexually explicit stories denigrating gay men’ to the Advocate last year.
Another recent controversy stemmed from revelations that Platner texted other women sexually while married, and the discovery of a shirtless profile on Kik.
Platner has not denied the texts or the profile, describing the stories as ‘gossip’ and he and his wife have reaffirmed ‘a very happy marriage.’
Some Democrats, notably, have soured on him. Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman told CNN: ‘What kind of a creep has been on a platform like Kik, sending a dozen explicit messages – and who knows what else.’
Vermont’s Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts’ Elizabeth Warren have backed Platner despite all of his scandals.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters last month that he met with Platner during the candidate’s visit to DC, adding, ‘we’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.’
Collins, the only Republican in the race, holds an independent streak that makes her both loved and feared.
She also represents an endangered species: a Republican who represents a state traditionally carried by the Democratic presidential nominee.
