Graham Platner, Democratic US Senate candidate for Maine, during a primary election night event at the Blue Hill YMCA in Blue Hill, Maine, US, on Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
Graeme Sloan | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner said Monday that he is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward” for his campaign after a woman accused the Democratic nominee of sexually assaulting her in 2021 — but calls for Platner to exit the race quickly grew.
Platner and his campaign denied the assault allegations by Maine resident Jenny Racicot, 41, as reported in a Politico article.
Platner, a Marine veteran and oysterman who rocketed to his party’s nomination this year on a populist, progressive message, is seeking to unseat five-term incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, the only Republican in Congress from New England.
“I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false,” Platner said in a video posted to X minutes after the Politico story was published.
“This movement we have built — the largest volunteer base in the history of Maine politics, the hundreds of thousands of grassroots donors, the supporters across the ideological spectrum — we were united in a love of Maine, a belief that our politics must change and a focus on defeating Susan Collins,” he said.
Platner, 41, did not say he would quit the race. But pressure on him to do so mounted among leading...
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