Democrats Scramble as Maine Senate Nominee Graham Platner Faces Sexual Assault Allegation

The Democratic Party's best shot at flipping a Senate seat in New England is currently under pressure to drop out of his own race after a former girlfriend accused him of rape, triggering a mass exodus of endorsements from national Democratic leaders and leaving the party scrambling to find a replacement with less than a week to act.

Graham Platner, 41, an oyster farmer and Marine veteran who won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Maine on June 9, denied the allegation Monday but announced he was taking time to "reflect on the best path forward" – a phrase that did little to stop his party from abandoning him in real time.

What Jenny Racicot Said

Jenny Racicot, who had been in an on-and-off relationship with Platner from 2019 to 2021, told Politico that in late 2021 Platner arrived at her home drunk and uninvited, ignored repeated refusals, and forced her to have sex, including ejaculating without her consent. She said she did not physically fight back out of fear that Platner, a former Marine, would become more violent.

"He violated multiple layers of consent that night," Racicot said in a CNN interview Monday evening. She described the incident as rape by definition, said she told Platner directly afterward that it was not consensual, and cut off contact with him entirely following the encounter.

Platner denied the allegation in a video posted to social media. "Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false," he said, while acknowledging what he called the "political reality" of the reporting and canceling a series of scheduled town hall events.

The Party That Built Him Up Is Now Tearing Him Down

The response from national Democrats was swift and, for a party that had spent months rallying behind Platner despite a string of earlier controversies, notable for its speed.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand issued a joint statement calling on Platner to withdraw immediately. "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," they said, adding that the DSCC would spend no money on the race if Platner remains the nominee.

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said Maine Democrats "should select a new nominee." The DNC sent out a fundraising email for Senate races hours after the Politico report was published – Maine was not included.

Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who had stood by Platner through earlier controversies, pulled his endorsement. "I've been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line," Khanna said. "These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Ruben Gallego announced they were withdrawing their endorsements and calling on Platner to step aside. The Maine Democratic Party's leadership followed, as did Our Revolution, the progressive organization founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders. Hasan Piker, a leftist streamer who had been among Platner's most vocal online supporters, called the allegations "clear-cut" and "completely irredeemable."

This Was Not the First Red Flag

The sexual assault allegation is the most serious charge Platner has faced, but it is not the first. A chest tattoo widely recognized as resembling the SS Totenkopf, a Nazi skull symbol used by SS units during World War II, drew significant attention after it emerged that an ex-girlfriend had texted friends in August 2025 identifying it as a "Nazi tattoo." Platner claimed he picked the design from a parlor wall in Croatia in 2007 while drunk on leave with his Marine unit and was unaware of its Nazi associations until around October 2025, when he had it covered up.

In 2013, Platner posted on Reddit that people should not get so drunk "they wind up having sex with someone they don't mean to" and that sexual assault victims should "just take some responsibility for themselves." He has since apologized for the posts. The New York Times also reported that Platner had volatile relationships with previous girlfriends, one of whom said an argument became physical. Platner denied that allegation as well.

Despite this history, Platner defeated established Democratic candidates including Maine Gov. Janet Mills, 78, who dropped out of the primary citing an inability to raise sufficient funds, and consolidated progressive support at a moment when Democratic voters were deeply skeptical of the party establishment.

A Party Racing the Clock

Maine law requires Platner to withdraw by 5 p.m. on July 13 for a replacement to appear on the ballot. If he drops out, the Democratic Party has until July 27 to name a new nominee. If he does not, he remains the nominee regardless of how many endorsements he loses.

The replacement question is already dividing Democrats along familiar ideological lines. Khanna floated Troy Jackson, the former Maine state Senate president and a progressive who ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination earlier this year with Platner's backing. Jackson faces his own past allegation of assaulting a colleague, which complicates the calculus.

Other names under discussion include former Gov. Janet Mills, former Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, Maine Beer Company founder Dan Kleban, current Democratic gubernatorial nominee Hannah Pingree, and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, who is not seeking reelection to his House seat.

The race was already considered an uphill climb against Collins, who has held the seat for nearly three decades and survived multiple well-funded Democratic challenges. With Platner's future uncertain and the replacement process potentially fracturing the party between its progressive and moderate wings, Democrats now face the prospect of handing Collins another term by default.

Sen. Collins offered a brief statement. "These allegations are appalling," she said. "Nevertheless, it is not up to me to choose the Democratic nominee for Senate."