Woman accuses Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner of sexual assault

Graham Platner at a town hall in Ogunquit, Maine, last October. Photograph: Caleb Jones/AP View image in fullscreen Graham Platner at a town hall in Ogunquit, Maine, last October. Photograph: Caleb Jones/AP Woman accuses Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner of sexual assault Democratic candidate for Senate, who has faced series of scandals, denies allegation reported by Politico A woman has accused Graham Platner, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Maine, of sexual assault, according to an exclusive report by Politico. Jenny Racicot, 41, dated the oyster farmer former marine veteran and alleges he forced her to have sex despite repeated objections. Platner denied the claims in a statement to Politico. “These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue,” he said. Racicot told the outlet she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for more than two years. She alleges that in late 2021, an intoxicated Platner entered her home uninvited and forced himself on her. Racicot said she terminated contact after the encounter. The report cited corroborating accounts from a man Racicot later confided in, as well as therapist emails and messages where she warned an acquaintance about Platner years before his Senate run. Platner, who secured the Democratic nomination and faces the Republican senator Susan Collins in the general election, has faced a series of scandals. Platner has cast himself as a populist everyman with an anti-oligarchy message. Before his run for public office, he made controversial comments on social media and got a Nazi-aligned tattoo , which has since been covered up. Platner has said he did not initially understand the meaning of the tattoo. Racicot was one of several women who spoke to the New York Times for a previous story in June about Platner’s “unsettling” behavior with women he dated. She told Politico she hesitated to make her claim public because she had a “huge moral conflict” between supporting Platner’s politics and not supporting him as a person. She also said she did not share the sexual assault claims with the New York Times for their story because she did not want to be known as a rape victim. Racicot told Politico she had previously had consensual relations with Platner, until a night in 2021 when he let himself into her unlocked house and forced himself on her. She said she repeatedly told him to stop and that she believed he was “almost blackout drunk”. According to Politico, Racicot accused Platner of having sex with her against her will and ejaculating inside her after she told him not to. Platner’s campaign said the senatorial candidate “vigorously denies” the claims. “These allegations are very serious and Graham vigorously denies them,” the statement said. “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 Naz