Maine Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner during a primary election night event at the Blue Hill YMCA on Tuesday, June 9, 2026 in Blue Hill, Maine, USA.
Graham Sloan | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner said Monday he will “take time to think about the future direction” of his campaign after a woman accused him of sexual assault in 2021.
Plattner and his campaign denied the accusations by Maine resident Jenny Racicot, 41, in a Politico article published Monday. Politico reported that Platner had been accused of sexual assault. Mr. Platner, a Marine Corps veteran and oysterman, rose to the party’s nomination this year with a populist, progressive message.
In a video posted X minutes after Politico’s article, Platner denied the reports but said his campaign was “taking time to reflect on the best path forward” as he challenges incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) for the hotly contested seat.
“I wanted to directly address the troubling and seriously false allegations against me. Any accusation of non-consensual conduct is categorically false,” Plattner said. “In this movement we have built – the largest volunteer base in the history of Maine politics, hundreds of thousands of grassroots donors, supporters of a wide range of ideologies – we are united by our love for Maine, our belief that politics must change, and our focus on defeating Susan Collins.”
Mr. Plattner did not explicitly say he would withdraw from the race, but there will almost certainly be pressure to do so. Mr. Platner defeated incumbent Governor Janet Mills of Maine in the Democratic primary.
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