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Key events
Shrai Popat
In a video message on Monday published after the Politico report, Platner again said the accusations were false, but that he was mindful of the political reality the accusation will carry.
“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,” Platner said.
He thanked the voters who helped propel him to the nomination as a political newcomer.
“You never turned your back on me, and I will not turn my back on you now,” he said. “Every one of you deserves to see that vision come to fruition, and see Susan Collins defeated, and we will use every tool at our disposal to do so. As Maine goes, so goes the nation.”
Collins herself weighed in on social media: “These allegations are appalling. Nevertheless, it is not up to me to choose the Democratic nominee for Senate.”
Shrai Popat
In the Politico report, published on Monday, Jenny Racicot, 41, who previously dated Platner, said he forced her to have sex despite repeated objections.
Platner denied the claims in a statement to Politico. “These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue,” he said.
Racicot told the outlet she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for more than two years. She alleges that in late 2021, an intoxicated Platner entered her home uninvited and forced himself on her. Racicot said she terminated contact after the encounter.
The report cited accounts from a man Racicot later confided in, as well as recent therapist emails, and messages where she warned an acquaintance about Platner in 2023.
Platner, an oyster farmer and former marine veteran, who secured the Democratic nomination and faces the Republican senator Susan Collins in the general election, has faced a series of scandals before this week.
Platner has cast himself as a populist everyman with an anti-oligarchy message. Before his run for public office, he made controversial comments on social media and got a Nazi-linked tattoo, which has since been covered up. Platner has said he did not initially understand the meaning of the tattoo.
Key Democratic figures call on Graham Platner to 'immediately' withdraw from Senate race
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Maine’s Democratic party leadership has called for US Senate candidate Graham Platner to withdraw from the race, as the scandal-hit Marine veteran loses support from his previously most vocal backers.
It comes as Politico reported that Jenny Racicot, a 41-year-old Maine resident who previously dated Platner – whose insurgent rise has drawn comparisons to president Donald Trump – accused him of forcing her to have sex in late 2021.
Platner rejected the allegation and, in a video message posted to X after the report was published, called the allegations “troubling, serious and false.”
However, many top Democratic figures have called on the beleaguered nominee to step down. In a joint statement, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair Kirsten Gillibrand said Platner should “immediately withdraw”.
Ro Khanna, the California representative who has been one of Platner’s most vocal supporters, also said he should drop out. “I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line,” he wrote on X. “These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.”
Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator who endorsed Platner in March, said in a statement “there can be no tolerance for sexual assault”. She said: “With so much at stake, the best path forward is for Graham Platner to step aside as the Democratic nominee and address these serious allegations outside this Senate race.”
The allegation lands at a perilous moment for Democrats, who view Maine as a central battleground in their effort to regain control of the Senate in November’s midterm elections.
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