Maine Woman Tells Politico a Blacked-Out Platner Raped Her; Platner Denies

Graham Platner, the ex-Marine with a Totenkopf tattoo and an oyster hobby whose Icarus-like rise in American politics saw him endorsed by progressive icons such as U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), is facing new allegations of sexual misconduct.

According to Politico, a Maine woman has accused Platner of drunkenly breaking into her house and sexually assaulting her.

From Politico:

A woman who dated Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner says he forced her to have sex with him nearly five years ago despite her repeated objections, an allegation Platner denies.

The woman, a 41-year-old Maine resident named Jenny Racicot, detailed the alleged incident to POLITICO in three interviews over the past two weeks. POLITICO also spoke with a man Racicot dated and confided in the years after the alleged incident, and reviewed documents, including emails between Racicot and her therapist and messages between Racicot and an acquaintance whom she warned against getting involved with Platner years before he ran for office.

…

“I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” she said. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’”

Platner denied the allegations.

According to the story, Racicot connected with Platner on a dating app and had consensual sex with him one evening. Then, the following evening, he showed up to her house uninvited — letting himself into her unlocked home.

Per Politico:

Platner came up the stairs, Racicot said, to where she was on a couch. He got on top of her and kept grabbing her, she said, while she repeatedly told him to stop and that she wasn’t interested. Racicot said she smelled alcohol on his breath and believed he was “almost blackout drunk” because Platner ignored her protests and continued to grab her after knocking over an antique sewing kit, spilling small needles everywhere.

…

Racicot said she tried to separate herself from Platner by telling him she couldn’t be in that room anymore, after which he followed her to her bedroom and had sex with her against her will. She said he also ejaculated inside of her despite her telling him not to, as she was not using birth control at the time.

She went to clean herself up, she said, and when she returned, Platner had fallen asleep. She contemplated waking him up to kick him out, but worried he could hurt someone driving in the state he was in.

The following morning, she said, Platner tried to put his arm around her and she pushed him away. She said she asked him whether he remembered what had happened the previous night; according to Racicot, Platner said he didn’t remember. Racicot said she told him to leave and never contact her again.

Platner secured the Maine Democratic Party’s nomination on June 9, crushing Gov. Janet Mills 71.9 percent to 19.3 percent. In subsequent weeks, betting websites and several polls pegged him as the favorite to unseat incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.

Word of the impending story spread last week among Maine politicos, with scant details but serious tones and whispers of gross sexual assault. On Independence Day, multiple sources said Platner left the Eastport parade early and was a no-show at the Machias parade that evening.

Throughout Monday, Platner’s campaign cancelled multiple town hall events and word slowly spread through social media that some form of scandal was looming over his candidacy.

This is not the first time Platner has faced allegations of sexual misconduct.

The most detailed accounting, before Monday, emerged in a June 4, 2026, New York Times investigation, which interviewed multiple women who dated Platner over the years. While some described him as charming and caring, others recounted volatile, “toxic” relationships marked by heavy drinking, infidelity, emotional volatility, and, in at least one case, physical aggression.

Lyndsey Fifield, who dated Platner roughly from 2013 to 2015, provided the most specific claims. She alleged that he “regularly grabbed her by the shoulders—sometimes hard enough to leave marks.” During one argument, she said he “twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom and held the door closed from the other side so she couldn’t get out, telling her to remain there until she was ‘calm.’” Fifield also described him yanking her out of a taxi by the wrist and using crude language, including referring to women in vulgar terms and making unsettling comments about hypothetical rape scenarios.

Platner, according to the New York Times story, often fantasized about raping a hypothetical burglar, though he was always clear that the anal rape would be performed “not in a gay way.”

Despite Fifield’s vivid and credible description of domestic violence, Platner’s supporters, national Democrats, and Democrats in Maine brushed aside who claims as politically motivated because Fifield lives in Washington, D.C., and works as a Republican staffer.

Other women interviewed by the New York Times, though, echoed themes of unsettling conduct: demeaning remarks, emotional turbulence tied to Platner’s admitted struggles with PTSD, depression, and alcohol, and a pattern of infidelity. These accounts align with broader reports of Platner sending sexually explicit texts to at least six women outside his purported marriage to Amy Gertner—messages his own wife reportedly flagged to campaign staff.

Compounding this are Platner’s old Reddit posts (under the handle “P-Hustle,” deleted before his run), where he downplayed sexual assault, suggesting victims “take some responsibility” by avoiding alcohol or compromising situations, and made other crude or dismissive comments about women and military reporting protocols.

Using a variation of the same username, Platner also used an account on a little known social media app called Kik, an app that law enforcement and child safety advocates have described as a “predator’s paradise.” The app has slim age verification features and has featured in several recent cases of child sex crimes just in Maine.

Platner has consistently denied physical abuse or assault, calling many claims “simply not true” and “politically motivated.” He acknowledges being “far from the perfect boyfriend” during a difficult period of undiagnosed PTSD and heavy drinking but insists he has grown, sought accountability, and rebuilt his life.

At least some well-funded Democrat operators believe Platner is bound to drop out of the race — which he would have to do voluntarily by July 13 for Democrats to legally select a new nominee.

Throughout the weekend and on Monday, Democrats were polling dozens of Maine Democrat names for favorability in a theoretical match-up against Collins, including actor Patrick Dempsey. The poll questions outright stated the possibility of Platner being replaced as the nominee.

The poll was among the first indications that Democratic insiders had begun preparing for an eventuality in which the damage to Platner’s odds of winning became so severe that he would voluntarily withdraw from the race by the July 13th deadline. Unless Platner himself agrees to terminate his candidacy, Democrats have no mechanism from replacing him on the ballot.

Under that scenario, the Maine Democratic State Committee would convene for a majority vote on a replacement nominee. But if Platner doesn’t voluntarily withdraw his name by that deadline, then he’ll be the Democratic nominee no matter what party elders do.

Regardless of the Democratic candidate Sen. Collins faces in the fall — either a fatally wounded Platner or a seriously handicapped and rushed new candidate — the development bodes well for odds of securing another term in the Senate.

A representative from Collins campaign declined to comment for this story.

Word of the impending story spread last week among Maine politicos, with scant details but serious tones and whispers of gross sexual assault. On Independence Day, multiple sources said Platner left the Eastport parade early and was a no-show at the Machias parade that evening.

By Monday morning, an unknown Democratic group was in the field with a text based poll that tested the names of 12 non-Platner Maine Democrats against Sen. Susan Collins, including former ME-CD2 candidate Jordan Wood and former gubernatorial candidate Nirav Shah.

The poll was among the first indications that Democratic insiders were preparing for an eventuality in which the damage to Platner’s odds of winning became so severe that he would voluntarily withdraw from the race by the July 13th deadline. Unless Platner himself agrees to terminate his candidacy, Democrats have no mechanism from replacing him on the ballot.

Under that scenario, the Maine Democratic State Committee would convene for a majority vote on a replacement nominee. But if Platner doesn’t voluntarily withdraw his name by that deadline, then he’ll be the Democratic nominee regardless of what party elders do.

The most detailed accounting emerged in a June 4, 2026, New York Times investigation, which interviewed multiple women who dated Platner over the years. While some described him as charming and caring, others recounted volatile, “toxic” relationships marked by heavy drinking, infidelity, emotional volatility, and, in at least one case, physical aggression.

Lyndsey Fifield, who dated Platner roughly from 2013 to 2015, provided the most specific claims. She alleged that he “regularly grabbed her by the shoulders—sometimes hard enough to leave marks.” During one argument, she said he “twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom and held the door closed from the other side so she couldn’t get out, telling her to remain there until she was ‘calm.’” Fifield also described him yanking her out of a taxi by the wrist and using crude language, including referring to women in vulgar terms and making unsettling comments about hypothetical rape scenarios.

Platner, according to the New York Times story, often fantasized about raping a hypothetical burglar, though he was always clear that the anal rape would be performed “not in a gay way.”

Despite Fifield’s vivid and credible description of domestic violence, Platner’s supporters, national Democrats, and Democrats in Maine brushed aside who claims as politically motivated because Fifield lives in Washington, D.C., and works as a Republican staffer.

Other women interviewed by the New York Times, though, echoed themes of unsettling conduct: demeaning remarks, emotional turbulence tied to Platner’s admitted struggles with PTSD, depression, and alcohol, and a pattern of infidelity. These accounts align with broader reports of Platner sending sexually explicit texts to at least six women outside his purported marriage to Amy Gertner—messages his own wife reportedly flagged to campaign staff.

Compounding this are Platner’s old Reddit posts (under the handle “P-Hustle,” deleted before his run), where he downplayed sexual assault, suggesting victims “take some responsibility” by avoiding alcohol or compromising situations, and made other crude or dismissive comments about women and military reporting protocols.

Using a variation of the same username, Platner also used an account on a little known social media app called Kik, an app that law enforcement and child safety advocates have described as a “predator’s paradise.” The app has slim age verification features and has featured in several recent cases of child sex crimes just in Maine.

Platner has consistently denied physical abuse or assault, calling many claims “simply not true” and “politically motivated.” He acknowledges being “far from the perfect boyfriend” during a difficult period of undiagnosed PTSD and heavy drinking but insists he has grown, sought accountability, and rebuilt his life.

This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available.