Graham Platner Accused of Rape – and Rats Jump from Sinking Ship

Democrats Rush for the Exits

Just weeks after rallying behind Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner, many of his highest profile supporters are now scrambling to distance themselves from a campaign suddenly engulfed by a rape allegation. The rapid reversal has been striking. Politicians who defended or overlooked earlier controversies are now calling for Platner to immediately abandon his bid against Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

The latest controversy began when POLITICO published an interview with Maine resident Jenny Racicot, who alleges Platner raped her in late 2021 during what had previously been an on and off relationship. Platner has categorically denied the allegation, calling it “troubling, serious, and false” and insisting that “any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue.”

The allegation is by far the most serious challenge to Platner’s candidacy and has transformed what had been a competitive Senate race into a political crisis for Democrats.

The Allegations

According to POLITICO, Racicot said Platner arrived at her home uninvited after she had told him not to come over. She alleges he was heavily intoxicated, entered her home, ignored repeated requests to stop, and forced her to have unprotected sex against her will.

“I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” Racicot told POLITICO. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, ‘This is no longer my choice.'”

Racicot told the publication she chose not to report the incident publicly for years because she agreed with Platner politically and struggled with the conflict between supporting his policies and opposing his personal behavior.

“One of the reasons I didn’t come forward sooner was, the huge moral conflict that I had between supporting his politics, but not supporting him as a person,” she said. “I just want the truth out there. I just want people to have a whole scope of who he is as a person.”

POLITICO reported that Racicot’s account was supported by people she had confided in before Platner entered politics, along with emails exchanged with her therapist and messages warning another woman about Platner years before his Senate campaign began. Platner disputes the allegation and maintains that it never occurred.

Democratic Leaders Bolt

The reaction from Democratic leaders was swift.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called the allegations “incredibly disturbing,” adding that “violence, abuse and sexual assault are absolutely unacceptable.”

Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand jointly declared, “Graham Platner needs to immediately withdraw as the Democratic nominee for Senate and allow Maine Democrats the opportunity to choose a new candidate who can defeat Susan Collins.”

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also announced it would not invest in the race if Platner remained the nominee.

The Maine Democratic Party likewise urged Platner to withdraw immediately.

Rep. Ro Khanna withdrew his endorsement, stating, “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.”

Sen. Ruben Gallego rescinded his endorsement, writing that the allegations were “troubling and deeply serious.”

Democratic Senate candidate Alex Vindman called the allegations “extremely serious, disturbing, and disqualifying.”

Rep. Haley Stevens was equally direct, saying simply, “Graham Platner must step aside.”

Even Sen. Bernie Sanders, who had been one of Platner’s strongest political supporters throughout the campaign, has watched his progressive ally become politically isolated as prominent Democrats abandoned the candidate.

Meanwhile, television host Ana Navarro of ABC’s “The View” argued that Democrats should respond differently than Republicans have in past scandals, saying that if the allegations are credible, Platner should leave the race rather than be defended for partisan reasons.

A Candidate Already Burdened by Controversy

The rape allegation did not emerge in a political vacuum.

Platner had already weathered allegations involving abusive behavior toward former partners, infidelity, inflammatory online comments, a tattoo resembling a Nazi-linked symbol, controversial statements about the military, and describing himself as a communist. Despite those controversies, many Democratic leaders continued supporting his campaign because they believed he represented their best opportunity to defeat Collins.

That political calculation appears to have changed almost overnight.

Platner responded by posting a video stating he was taking time to “reflect on the best path forward” while continuing to insist the allegations were false.

His campaign also argued that the accusations were coordinated by “out of state establishment operatives” and noted that the story appeared shortly before Maine’s July 13 deadline for replacing a nominee on the general election ballot if he withdraws.

A Quick Analysis

The timing of this story is impossible to ignore.

Under Maine law, Democrats can replace Platner with another nominee if he withdraws before the July 13 deadline. If these allegations had surfaced only a week later, party leaders likely would have had far fewer options and could have found themselves stuck with a severely damaged nominee heading into November.

That timing raises obvious political questions.

If Republican operatives were solely interested in maximizing political damage, waiting until after the replacement deadline would arguably have left Democrats with a far more difficult predicament. Instead, the allegations surfaced while Democratic leaders still have a clear procedural path to replace Platner if he steps aside.

One might conclude that the information was pushed by the Democrats. The fact that it came out on Democrat friendly Politico (which would have resisted a Republican driven story) makes it very likely that the Democrats wanted Platner out before it was too late.

Perhaps the greatest irony is not the timing itself, but the speed with which Platner’s political allies abandoned him. Democratic leaders tolerated months of damaging controversies because they believed he could win. Only after allegations emerged that threatened to make his candidacy politically unsustainable did many of those same figures rush for the exits.

And the mind-boggling part is that this bozo actually had a Nazi tattoo. And this did not scare off the Democrats.