On Monday the Maine Senate race was rocked with sexual assault allegations reported by POLITICO against Democratic nominee Graham Platner, who is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward,” according to a statement.
But his withdrawal from the race should be immediate. The accusations by Jenny Racicot, a 41-year-old Maine resident who had what she described as an on-and-off relationship with Platner, are serious and credible, involving a nonconsensual sexual encounter in which she repeatedly asked him to stop and he refused. Among the evidence Racicot used to corroborate her claim to POLITICO were screenshots from a series of Facebook messages in which she warned off an acquaintance from dating him by describing him as “consensually careless.” In a statement, Platner said the accusation was “categorically false” and referred to POLITICO’s reporting as inaccurate.
After the news broke, Democrats across the political spectrum began calling for Platner’s withdrawal, and the leadership of the Maine Democratic Party announced the organization was withdrawing its support.
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Platner is not a typical politician, which has been the secret sauce to his everyman appeal among Democrats in — and beyond — Maine who are looking for maverick candidates to counteract MAGA’s working-class appeal. He has been open about his struggles with mental health and substance abuse, and he has proven adept at talking around issues that might have doomed a different candidate, including a history of offensive online comments, a tattoo linked to Nazism and a June 4 report from the New York Times detailing a series of alleged “volatile and ‘toxic’ relationships” with women.
But that silver-tongued ability ends now. Platner should immediately acknowledge the political reality and a looming deadline. Under Maine law, the state’s Democratic Party can replace him if he withdraws before 5 p.m. on Monday, July 13. His candidacy is doomed — and the Democrats have a Senate to win.
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