A July 6 allegation of sexual assault appears to have been the final straw for Democratic support of Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner.
Jenny Racicot, a former on-and-off girlfriend of Platner, alleged that he entered her home in late 2021 while “almost blackout drunk” and forced her to have sex after she told him to stop. “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,” recalled Racicot.
Platner, for seemingly the umpteenth time, has issued a statement denying the allegation. He called this specific allegation “categorically false,” while his campaign reiterated the denial and accused critics of trying to drive him out of the race: “These allegations are very serious … They are also coached and coordinated by out of state establishment operatives.” Despite those denials, Platner is still “considering the best path forward” for the campaign.
One would imagine that Platner’s very meaningful reflection comes in large part because Maine and national Democrats are finally done defending him. (RELATED: How Long Will Democrats Keep Defending Platner?)
Platner has been plagued by scandals since he announced his candidacy last August. The lowlight reel runs the gamut of poor character: a chest tattoo nearly identical to a Nazi symbol, cheating on his wife only a year into marriage, an allegation that he often referred to women as “hatchet wounds,” and allegations that he physically mistreated a former girlfriend.
At every step, Platner and his national Democratic supporters, like California U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, Mass. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and others, framed these revelations as old mistakes, misunderstandings, or even proof of a troubled but humble man who had changed. But allegations of sexual violence, it would seem, cannot be absorbed and forgotten as “youthful indiscretion.”
In the words of Khanna, “sexual assault or violence against women is a red line” that even Platner’s previous Democratic supporters were unwilling to look past.
The Maine Democratic Party formally called on Platner to withdraw as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, as “multiple women have made serious, credible allegations” against him. The Maine Democrats were echoed by the same national voices who had previously endorsed and stood by Platner in his past allegations and scandal.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chair Kirsten Gillibrand called on Platner to “immediately withdraw as the Democratic nominee for Senate,” declaring that “violence, abuse and sexual assault are absolutely unacceptable.” Schumer and Gillibrand said that the DSCC will not invest any funds into Maine if Platner remains on the ballot.
Democrats now face a hard deadline. Under Maine law, Platner must withdraw by 5 p.m. on July 13 for Democrats to replace him on the November ballot. The party would then have until July 27 to select a new nominee. If Platner dithers past the deadline or sticks it out against the party, Democrats would be unable to replace him in a race they had viewed as a prime opportunity to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who has held the Senate seat since 1997.
This is undeniably a crisis of the Democrats’ own making. They buried their heads through scandal upon scandal because they believed Platner’s facade of a working-class veteran, paired with progressive positions like universal health care and a wealth tax, was just the ticket to narrowing the Republican Senate majority. After months of treating every warning sign as inconsequential, Democrats are scrambling and squirming to escape Platner before the deadline closes.
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