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Rumors are swirling on social media about the future of Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner after several of his events were canceled and a report from Politico accused the scandal-plagued Democratic nominee of sexual assault ahead of a key deadline in the race.
Maine resident Jenny Racicot, 41, told Politico over the course of three interviews that Platner forced her to have sex five years ago, 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.’”
In a statement to Politico, Platner said, “These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue.”
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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 whether there is 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. “
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Platner campaign for comment on both the canceled events and the Politico report.
In addition to the online rumors, bets on the online prediction market Polymarket surged over the weekend, with users betting that Platner would drop out before the midterms.
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.
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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.
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