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.
Dude what? You’re really trying to pull a concern troll on someone while saying rape is not that bad? What about when Trump does it, is it “kinda” bad? People like you are seriously sick
What you are doing is literally the definition of concern trolling.
The guy I’m replying to made it about raping “white women”, get the fuck outta here.
Lol you literally just pulled a “I hope you get better” 😂. You said it is “kinda bad.” It’s way beyond kinda bad brother. I’ve had people on here trying to tell me that rape is worse than murder. Like, no shit, I didn’t know I had to support either if they were democrats?
… Yes, I believe I must apologize for your misunderstanding. I had assumed the context would make it obvious per quod that I think rape is actually really fucking bad, and that the response was meant to point out that I don’t really think the race or gender of the person being raped particularly matters in that regard, but I can see that media literacy has taken one last breath this day.
You see, ol’ boy, there’s this thing in English that we do called irony, and I understand it’s a bit of an advanced maneuver, but, boy howdy, do I like it too much to quit. You’ll have to take a bit of a step on this, but trust that this was pretty fucking lathered up in it. Otherwise, please scour my comment history for where you think I think rape is A-okay, and we can have a discussion about it! Mmkay, pumpkin? Okay.
I hope that clears it up for you.
Damn, I just have to say I really appreciate your wit. Love coming across your comments.
I like to give a lot of benefit of the doubt, but sometimes, I mire in annoyance, and if I must style on someone (and my brain has informed me that I must), it should at least be someone who deserves it.
It’s not conducive to an argument, but it is conducive to my well-being, so if you appreciate it, all the better!
Jesus christ how insufferable 🙄
Tell me about it!
Don’t be throwing stones in glass houses now
You can’t apologize for something you’re saying I did 😂 that’s some manipulative shit right there. Don’t ever pull that on your partner. Didn’t mean to make you so angry, just watch how you word stuff because these topics are serious, if you wanna be a bully & call me pumpkin you can go away 😂
You’re trying too hard, but the bait and switch on being called a bully while calling you pumpkin is quite good, that’s great trolling.