A woman who previously dated Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner said he drunkenly forced her to have sex after she told him to stop, according to a Politico report released Monday, leading prominent supporters to pull their endorsements and throwing a must-win race for the party into turmoil.
Platner denied the allegation, but said he would be considering next steps for his campaign.
“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we’re taking the time to reflect on the best path forward,” he said in a video released on social media.
Jenny Racicot, who lives in Maine, told Politico that Platner entered her home in 2021 while drunk and assaulted her. Racicot said she had been in an on-and-off relationship with Platner, but she cut off contact with him after that night and told him the incident wasn’t consensual. A voicemail left at a number listed for Racicot seeking comment did not receive an immediate response.
Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to an email and phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
“Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false,” Platner said in his video.
Still, the allegation sparked a flight away from a candidate who has long been controversial. Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who’d stood by Platner even as the insurgent candidate was hit with prior allegations, said Monday’s was enough. “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. I am withdrawing my endorsement.”
Edit: holy shit, these comments are insane.
Regardless of what you believe with this, Platner likely cannot win anymore. He has a week to do the right thing and drop out before he’s fully locked in. If he actually gives any sort of a shit (and doesn’t just want power, like rapists seeking office tend to), he needs to drop out yesterday.
This is the nail in the coffin for his campaign. It’s not time to defend him no matter what, because there’s still a week where a new candidate can be put into place. Instead of being mad at people not wanting to vote for him, you should start vocally supporting another candidate.
It is an exclusively Nazi symbol. It hasn’t been neutralized at all, US Americans are just stupid. The goddamn thing is literally in every piece of media featuring SS officers. It’s in memes. It’s incredibly recognizable to anyone that actually earned their high school diploma. You can argue whether Platner knew what is was when he got it, but you don’t get to argue that the totenkopf isn’t an exclusively Nazi symbol, because it is, and that’s clearly what the tattoo was of. We’re not republicans, we don’t substitute actual reality with our delusions because it’s convenient.
As a child, I was actually interested it history; and, as an edgelord, especially interested in gruesome totalitarian regimes. I played a lot of war-themed games, inevitably many had Nazis. Of course the games aren’t usually historically accurate but led me to read more about the actual events.
I had seen the totenkopf decades ago but did not know this was a Nazi symbol until I saw the Mitchell & Webb skit about ten years ago. If you asked me for Nazi logos, I would have come up with the swastika, the SS lightning bolts, and the Adler (which is used by the good guys in the Contra video game series).
(album cover of Singles 1-12 by Melvins, 1997)
Can confirm, Americans stupid; we were never shown this symbol and now our country is infested with fascists.