A 41-year-old Maine woman has accused embattled Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner of sexually assaulting her nearly five years ago, according to a bombshell Politico report published Monday.
Politico interviewed 41-year-old Maine resident Jenny Racicot three times over the past two weeks and reviewed documents and witness accounts that it reported corroborated her allegations.
Racicot told Politico she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for more than two years before “he entered her rural Maine home uninvited” in late 2021. She described Platner as “deeply intoxicated,” claiming he forced himself on her despite repeatedly telling him to stop.
“I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” she said to Politico. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’”
Racicot said she felt compelled to come forward after other women raised allegations against Platner.
“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 to Politico. “I just want the truth out there. I just want people to have a whole scope of who he is as a person.”
The woman told POLITICO she connected with Platner on the dating app Bumble in 2019 and had consensual sex with him before the night he allegedly assaulted her. On that night in 2021, she described an “almost blackout drunk” Platner getting on top of her.
“I had been telling him these words, like: ‘No, don’t,’” she recalled to Politico. “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.
Weeks after the alleged assault, Racicot said she “struggled with shock and confusion” and did not file a police report. The outlet reviewed messages she sent to friends and spoke to partners who appeared to support her account.
Platner denied the accusations, telling Politico: “These allegations are troubling, serious, and false.” Minutes after the story was published, Platner took to social media.
“Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false,” he said in a two-minute video message. “Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful the political reality it will inflict, we are taking time to reflect on the best path forward…”
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 6, 2026
The bombshell revelations come as the Maine Democrat’s campaign schedule unraveled over the weekend. After failing to appear at a Fourth of July parade in Machias, Platner postponed a Sunday town hall, according to the Bangor Daily News, and later canceled another town hall set for Monday evening.
On Monday morning, Gorham Democrats, a local political group, chalked up the cancellation to the oyster farmer “not feeling well.”
“So, unfortunately, we did have to postpone, not cancel, postpone Graham Platner’s event tonight,” the woman said with a deep sigh. “From my understanding, he is not feeling well, so that’s all it is.”
Democrats, however, were bracing for a major shakeup. Several told the Bangor Daily News they expected a national news outlet to publish a damaging story about Platner within the next 24 hours.
Social media erupted with speculation that the Maine Democrat’s campaign could soon come to an end, which would upend the midterm landscape and breathe new life into Republican hopes of holding the Senate.
“A lot of people are about to look really dumb,” Ally Sammarco, a Democratic content creator, said on X. “Good thing I remember each and every one of you who supported him after the NYT article.”
In June, The New York Times cited several ex-girlfriends who claimed Platner engaged in a pattern of “intimidating and disturbing” behavior in their relationships and lied about not knowing the meaning of his Nazi tattoo.
Three of Platner’s ex-girlfriends, including Lyndsey Fifield, described volatile and “toxic” relationships with the Senate hopeful, claiming he demeaned women, became physically threatening, and was repeatedly unfaithful. On one occasion, an ex-girlfriend accused Platner of twisting her arm, shoving her into a bedroom, and holding the door shut until she became “calm.”
The Platner campaign denied allegations of misconduct and rushed to MS NOW to do damage control.
“There are some allegations in this piece that I just want to be kind of unequivocal about, are simply not true,” Platner said on the television network. “Anything alleging physicality, anything alleging that I knew what my tattoo was, these are the statements of someone who’s politically motivated.”
Racicot told Politico the partisan, Democratic-led attacks on the New York Times story also pushed her to speak out.
“My part of the story was just a read-over,” Racicot said to Politico. “And the story was Lyndsey, and the accusations of her being politically motivated.”
On top of that, The Daily Wire previously uncovered that the Senate hopeful maintained an active account on a social media platform known to attract child predators. Several media outlets reported that Platner, a married man, had exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women.
Platner’s decisive primary victory dealt a major blow to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who recruited and backed Maine Democratic Governor Janet Mills. Maine Democrats face a July 13 deadline to swap Platner for another Democrat to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Prediction markets have shifted sharply, with the odds of Platner dropping out climbing from 9% Monday morning to 90%.
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