Platner says he's taking time to consider future of Maine Senate bid

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks to voters at a town hall on June 7 in Portland, Maine. Photo: Laura Brett/Getty Images

Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee in Maine's Senate race, said he is "taking the time" to consider his next steps after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2021.

Why it matters: Platner, who denied the allegation, stopped short of saying he would end his campaign, but indicated he is weighing its future as he seeks to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

• Politico reported Monday that a woman who dated Platner says he forced her to have sex with him nearly five years ago despite her reported objections.
• "Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of 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 said in a video posted on X.
• "Those were the goals we launched this campaign with, and they remain my goals today."

"I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false," Platner said.

The big picture: Even before Monday's report, Democratic strategists and elected officials worried that Platner had too much baggage to defeat Collins

and that his candidacy would doom the party's chances of retaking the Senate in the 2026 midterms.

• Controversies that have swirled around his campaign include a Nazi-linked tattoo that he's since covered up, allegations that he sent sexual text messages to women outside of his marriage, and contentious social media posts.
• But the sexual assault allegation is the most serious.

Between the lines: At one point in Monday's video, Platner referred to his campaign in the past tense.

• "We were united in a focus on defeating Susan Collins."

Driving the news: Platner was responding to a story in Politico that included a detailed account of alleged sexual assault from a 41-year-old Maine woman, Jenny Racicot, who says she supports Platner's politics.

• "I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me," Racicot told Politico. "I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, 'This is no longer my choice.'"

• Last month, Platner's campaign was shaken by a New York Times report examining his relationships with women, with a particular focus on his treatment of Lyndsey Fifield, whom he dated from 2019 to 2021.

• The story included Fifield's firsthand account alleging that Platner once locked her in a bedroom. Fifield is a conservative activist.

Zoom out: Platner weathered the controversy and went on to win Maine's Democratic Senate primary days later.

• Racicot also spoke with The New York Times before it published the story but did not go on the record about her sexual assault allegation at the time.

She said she decided to come forward after reading the Times story and seeing how both her experience and Fifield's were portrayed.

• "My part of the story was just a read-over," Racicot told Politico. "And the story was Lyndsey, and the accusations of her being politically motivated."
• "One of the reasons I didn't come forward sooner was the huge moral conflict I had between supporting his politics but not supporting him as a person," she said. "I just want the truth out there. I just want people to have the full picture of who he is as a person."

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional comments from Platner and details about the sexual assault allegation.