July 6 (UPI) — A woman who once dated Senate candidate Graham Platner says that he forced her to have sex with him about five years ago.
Jenny Racicot, 41, said she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for more than two years, Politico reported. She said he was intoxicated when he entered her home in Maine one night in 2021 and assaulted her while she told him repeatedly to stop.
“I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” she told Politico. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’ “
Platner, a Democrat, denied the accusations Tuesday, saying any claim of non-consensual behavior is “categorically untrue” and that the allegations are “troubling, serious and false.”
He said, however, that he is “mindful of the political reality (the allegation) will inflect” and that he is taking “time to reflect on the best path forward.”
He is the Democratic nominee running against Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. The party has until July 13 to replace him with another candidate if he withdraws, The New York Times reported.
Racicot previously told The Times that Platner came to her house in 2021 while drunk and said his behavior was “reckless” and “unsettling.” She did not elaborate at that time. Politico published the new interview Monday.
The Platner campaign also issued a statement saying that the candidate “vigorously denies” the allegations, which it called “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 Nazi, a war criminal, a communist,” the campaign statement said. “None of it has been true, and this is no different.”
Politico said it interviewed Racicot three times over the past two weeks, interviewed another person she confided in and reviewed documents including emails between Racicot and her therapist and messages between Racicot and an acquaintance she warned about Platner.
Collins said in a statement that the “allegations are appalling,” The Times reported.
Other Democratic candidates and politicians, including Rep. RoKhanna, D-Calif., a supporter of Platner’s, called on him to drop out of the race Monday.
End Citizens United, an organization that looks to reduce the role of large campaign donations in politics, rescinded its endorsement of Platner and called on him to end his campaign.