The Bangor Daily News reports that the embattled Maine Senate candidate, Graham Platner, “has postponed a string of events Sunday and Monday as rumors circulate among Maine Democrats and over social media about another potentially damaging story to come about the oyster farmer’s past.” Now, maybe this is nothing. Or maybe he’s just a bit under the weather, or had a family emergency or something; personal interruptions happen to candidates, too. But it’s worth remembering that July 13 is the last day for Maine Democrats to replace Platner on the ballot.
UPDATE: Since I posted this, the story has dropped, via Jessica Piper and Adam Wren at Politico going the extra mile to ensure that Democrats don’t get surprised by bad Platner news after July 13:
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…Racicot said she was torn over coming forward in part because she agrees with Platner politically. “One of the reasons I didn’t come forward sooner was, the huge moral conflict that 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 a whole scope of who he is as a person.”
This is not long-ago stuff, either: Racicot started dating Platner in 2019, and accuses him of assault in 2021: “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.” She then dumped him via a private message on Instagram.
Platner’s on-camera denial seems decidedly short on either a first-person “I didn’t do that” or anything remotely specific about the charges: “Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false.” Platner says that “we’re taking the time to reflect on the best path forward” in light of the gravity of the charges, but still sounds defiant notes: “you never turned your back on me, and I will not turn my back on you now.”
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 6, 2026