Explosive sexual assault allegation rocks Platner campaign ahead of key deadline in crucial Senate race

Democratic Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner is facing calls from top Democrats in his home state and in Washington to immediately end his campaign, in the wake of an explosive report on Monday afternoon that contained an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated.

Platner, a populist Democrat long backed by progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is challenging longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a high-profile, combustible and expensive race in Maine, which is one of a handful that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority in November's midterm elections.

But hours after a report from Politico on the latest allegations went viral, longtime Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer called them "incredibly disturbing – violence, abuse and sexual assault are absolutely unacceptable."

In a statement with Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Schumer emphasized, "Graham Platner needs to immediately withdraw as the Democratic nominee for Senate and allow Maine Democrats the opportunity to choose a new candidate who can defeat Susan Collins. The DSCC will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot."

Speculation was swirling on social media hours earlier about Platner's future after several of his events were canceled over the weekend.

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Maine resident Jenny Racicot, 41, told Politico over the course of three interviews that Platner forced her to have sex five years ago against her will, a claim that Platner denied in the story. Additionally, the report says that a man Raciot dated afterward confirmed she had told him about the incident, which was also corroborated by emails between Racicot and her therapist. 

"I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me," Racicot told the outlet about the incident, which allegedly took place while Platner was "almost blackout drunk." "I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’"

Racicot alleges that Platner entered her home uninvited and forced her to have unprotected sex despite her telling him to stop multiple times. 

Racicot said in the report that "one of the reasons" she didn't come forward until now was the "huge moral conflict" she had between her support of Platner's politics and not supporting him "as a person."

"I just want the truth out there," Racicot said. "I just want people to have a whole scope of who he is as a person."

In a statement to Politico, Platner said, "These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue."

The Platner campaign posted a video on X shortly after the Politico story published where Platner again called the allegations "false" and that he was going to "reflect" on the best path forward. 

"So, regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful the political reality it will inflict, 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," Platner says in the video. "Those were the goals when we launched this campaign, and they remain my goals today."

Over the last few days, multiple Platner events over the 4th of July holiday weekend and Monday were canceled without an official explanation or comment from the campaign, Bangor Daily News reported on Monday, other than one event organizer saying that an event in Gorman was canceled due to Platner "not feeling well."

The news of the canceled events led conservative outlets and pundits to speculate throughout the day on Monday, before the Politico report was published, about whether there was an underlying reason for the cancellations.

"Graham Platner cancels MULTIPLE scheduled town hall events as progressive allies tease another scandal is about to hit his campaign," the Maine Wire news outlet posted on X. "Augusta town hall for last night - CANCELED Gorham town hall tonight - CANCELED Sanford town hall tonight - CANCELED. There are no other upcoming events listed on his FB page, or on Mobilize."

"Graham Platner no-showed Fourth of July celebrations across Maine," the National Republican Senatorial Committee posted on X in response to the Maine Wire post. "Now, he's canceling everything else. We wouldn't want to be seen in public either… "

"A well-placed source told us that Graham Platner is dropping out of the Maine Senate race this week," the Washington Reporter posted on X. "Note that Platner has yet to release his Q2 fundraising totals, a sign he may have underperformed expectations. "

In addition to the online rumors circulating on Monday, bets on the online prediction market Polymarket surged over the weekend, with users betting that Platner would drop out before the midterms.

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Collins, who is running for a sixth six-year term in the Senate, said in a statement, "These allegations are appalling. Nevertheless, it is not up to me to choose the Democratic nominee for Senate." 

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Maine Democratic Party, in a statement, said it "is calling Graham Platner to withdraw as the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate."

One of Platner's top supporters in Congress, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, rescinded his endorsement.

"I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line. These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement," Khanna wrote in a social media post.

Khanna, a top progressive leader in the House, told Fox News Digital as he campaigned with Platner in Maine days ahead of the primary that he was "concerned about making it clear that we’re opposed to misogyny, those relationships were toxic and volatile, there’s no excuse for that."

"I talked to Graham, and he says he was at a very dark period. He had come back from two tours of duty in Iraq as an infantryman seeing violence and death. That doesn’t excuse it," Khanna said last month.

Also dropping their endorsement on Monday was Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, who along with Khanna is considered a potential 2028 White House hopeful.

"The allegations against Graham Platner are troubling and deeply serious," Gallego wrote on X. "I am rescinding my endorsement."

Meanwhile, Democratic Senate candidate Alex Vindman, who is on a glide path to win next month's primary in Florida, said in a statement,"I believe Graham Platner should immediately drop out. These allegations are extremely serious, disturbing, and disqualifying."

So did Rep. Haley Stevens, who is battling Abdul El-Sayed for the Democratic Senate nomination in Michigan's August 4 primary.

"Graham Platner must step aside," Stevens emphasized in a statement.

Platner has been at the center of multiple controversies since launching his campaign, including infidelity, alleged physical abuse of an ex-girlfriend, a Nazi-linked tattoo, disparaging comments about the military, referring to himself as a "communist", scrutiny over his working-class bonafides, and a variety of inflammatory posts on a deleted Reddit account.

Despite the controversies, many polls in recent weeks showed that Platner had a lead on Collins. However, a Fox News poll published last week showed Collins with a small advantage, along with more than half of respondents saying that Platner lacks the judgment to serve as a U.S. senator.

Now that Platner has won the Democratic primary, the next key date is 5 p.m. on Monday, July 13. Under Maine law, if Platner formally withdraws as the Democratic nominee by that deadline, the Maine Democratic Party can replace him on the general election ballot by selecting a new nominee through its party process, with the replacement required to be chosen by July 27.

If he remains the nominee past the July 13 deadline, the party generally loses its ability to substitute another candidate through the normal replacement process, except in limited circumstances defined under state law.

"These allegations are very serious and Graham vigorously denies them," a Platner campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "They are also coached and coordinated by out of state establishment operatives. For a year, opponents of this campaign have thrown everything they can at Graham –– calling him a Nazi, a war criminal, and a communist. None of it has been true and this is no different."

"It is not a coincidence that this story comes a week before the ballot deadline, just as the previous false allegations came a week before the primary. Graham began this campaign to fight for a Maine where everyone is treated with dignity and where Mainers are put first, and no amount of desperate smears will stop this movement from seeing that vision through."

Fox News' Alexis McAdams, Jessica Sonkin and Matthew Donnell contributed to this report