Democratic U.S. Senate candidate for Maine Graham Platner faces sexual assault accusations from a woman he previously dated.
Platner released a video right as Politico published the story. It starts off like a declaration of withdrawal, but instead, it sounds like the story is the reason why he canceled so many events scheduled for today.
“So, regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, I’m mindful of the political reality it will inflict,” Platner said. “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.”
Politico dropped the story hours after we learned the candidate had canceled numerous events around Maine.
The woman is Jenny Racicot, who previously spoke to The New York Times but never disclosed what happened:
The woman, a 41-year-old Maine resident named Jenny Racicot, detailed the alleged incident to POLITICO in three interviews over the past two weeks. POLITICO also spoke with a man Racicot dated and confided in the years after the alleged incident, and reviewed documents, including emails between Racicot and her therapist and messages between Racicot and an acquaintance whom she warned against getting involved with Platner years before he ran for office.Racicot said she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner, who is now the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, for more than two years before he entered her rural Maine home uninvited one night in late 2021, deeply intoxicated, and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop. She said she cut off contact with him after telling him the encounter was not consensual.“I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” she said. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’”—Racicot previously described “reckless” and “unsettling” behavior by Platner to The New York Times, but says she didn’t go public with the specific assault claim because she didn’t want to be known as a rape victim.Racicot said she later felt compelled to go public about her experience because the reaction to the Times story was dominated by controversy about another woman, Lyndsey Fifield, who alleged Platner mistreated her and faced attacks because of her ties to the Republican Party. (Contacted by POLITICO, Fifield stood by the allegations she made to the Times and declined to comment further.)
Racicot also said that the NYT story was about “Lyndsey, and the accusations of her being politically motivated.”
In other words, Racicot knew the NYT was a hit job on Lyndsey to cover for Platner. As if we needed more proof that the MSM is bias.
However, politics is another reason that complicated Racicot’s decision to speak up:
Racicot said she was torn over coming forward in part because she agrees with Platner politically.“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.”
Platner denied the accusations: “These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue.”
Racicot said she had consensual relations with Platner before the alleged assault:
That night in late 2021, she said she had exchanged text messages with him and told him not to come over, saying she wasn’t in the mood for company. Later that evening, she said she realized when she heard a sound on the stairs that he had let himself into her house, which was unlocked.Platner came up the stairs, Racicot said, to where she was on a couch. He got on top of her and kept grabbing her, she said, while she repeatedly told him to stop and that she wasn’t interested. Racicot said she smelled alcohol on his breath and believed he was “almost blackout drunk” because Platner ignored her protests and continued to grab her after knocking over an antique sewing kit, spilling small needles everywhere.“I had been telling him these words, like: ‘No, don’t,’” she recalled.“And, 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,” she said.Racicot said she tried to separate herself from Platner by telling him she couldn’t be in that room anymore, after which he followed her to her bedroom and had sex with her against her will. She said he also ejaculated inside of her despite her telling him not to, as she was not using birth control at the time.She went to clean herself up, she said, and when she returned, Platner had fallen asleep. She contemplated waking him up to kick him out, but worried he could hurt someone driving in the state he was in.The following morning, she said, Platner tried to put his arm around her and she pushed him away. She said she asked him whether he remembered what had happened the previous night; according to Racicot, Platner said he didn’t remember. Racicot said she told him to leave and never contact her again.
Here is the video Platner posted on X:
Earlier, we found out that Platner canceled numerous events across Maine as rumors swirl that another possible scandal from his past will be revealed soon.
From Bangor Daily News:
Platner postponed a planned town hall in Augusta on Sunday after reportedly missing a Fourth of July parade in Machias. The Gorham Democrats on Monday morning said a town hall set for Monday was postponed because Platner was “not feeling well.” And a Sanford town hall previously listed on Mobilize was later taken down.The Platner campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the events. The postponements came as multiple Democrats told the Bangor Daily News they expected a national outlet to drop a story about Platner Monday or Tuesday. Rumors about potentially damaging stories on the progressive candidate increasingly swirled online Sunday night and Monday, just as they did before the New York Times published a story last month featuring a few ex-girlfriends of Platner’s alleging toxic behavior. He denied ever being physically violent in a relationship.
Steve Robinson of The Maine Wire posted on X that Platner left the Independence Day Parade in Eastport “after getting struck in the face by a teen-tossed water balloon.”
I mean, what kind of scandal would it take for the Democrats to stop supporting and drop him? He still has support despite the scandals the Bangor Daily News listed.
Platner only has seven days to drop out of the race.
Stacey wrote over the weekend that the latest polls are not good for Platner.
The latest New York Times/Siena Poll has Platner receiving 49% of the votes with incumbent Sen. Susan Collins behind by two points at 47%.
A Fox News poll has Collins ahead 50% to 47%.
I’m sure you’re thinking, “Of course Collins leads in a Fox News poll!”
Well, Stacey pointed out that it’s “the first time she has led in this race.”
I learned not to trust the polls in 2016, especially if they show a republican trailing. While the NYT/Siena poll has Platner barely leading, I wonder if anyone can trust it considering these answers:
Let’s not forget 2020! No poll in the RealClearPolitics average had Collins winning her race, which she did, 51% to 42%:
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