Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner on July 6 denied a new sexual assault allegation reported by Politico, saying in a video posted on X that his campaign is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward” in his race against Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
“I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me,” Platner said in the video. “Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false.”
Politico reported on July 6 that Jenny Racicot, a 41-year-old Maine resident who said she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for more than two years, alleged that he entered her home uninvited while intoxicated in late 2021 and forced himself on her despite her repeated objections. Racicot told the outlet she cut off contact with Platner after the alleged incident and did not file a police report.
Platner and his campaign denied the allegation in statements to Politico. The campaign’s statement said the allegations were “coached and coordinated by out of state establishment operatives” and noted the report’s timing a week before the state’s ballot deadline. The deadline for candidates to drop out of the contest with time for a party to replace a nominee is July 13.
In the roughly two-minute video, Platner stopped short of committing to remain in the race.
“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the report, 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 said. “Those were the goals when we launched this campaign, and they remain my goals today.”
He pointed to the 156,084 votes he received in the June 9 primary—which he called the most in the state’s primary history—and told supporters, “Throughout it all, you never turned your back on me. And I will not turn my back on you now.”
“Every one of you deserves to see that vision come to fruition, and see Susan Collins defeated,” he said. “And we will use every tool at our disposal to do so.”
The video followed the postponement of several Platner campaign events, including town halls scheduled in several towns such as Gorham, Maine—according to the Gorham Democratic Party.
Platner, an oyster farmer and military veteran, won the Democratic primary on June 9 with more than 70 percent of the vote over Gov. Janet Mills, who suspended her campaign in April but remained on the ballot.
Racicot previously described Platner’s behavior as “reckless” and “unsettling” to The New York Times but told Politico she had not detailed the assault allegation at the time.
Democrats need to gain four seats to win Senate control and count Maine among their top targets. Collins, first elected in 1996, is seeking a sixth term. The general election is on Nov. 3.
The Platner campaign and Collins’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment from The Epoch Times prior to publication.
