Graham Platner was accused of rape on Monday, and it quickly became clear that he will never be a United States Senator.
After days of delay, he suspended his campaign in a lengthy, grievance-filled video on Wednesday night.
The accusation came from Jenny Racicot, a woman he once dated.
She told Politico that in 2021, a very drunk Platner let himself into her house after she told him not to come over.
Racicot said she realized he was there when she heard strange noises, then he raped her, forcing intercourse without a condom while she repeatedly said no.
Politico reviewed emails between Racicot and her therapist about the alleged encounter.
The outlet also interviewed a boyfriend she later confided in and reviewed messages she shared with another woman warning her away from Platner, long before his political career began.
Platner denies wrongdoing, calling any accusation of non-consensual behavior “categorically untrue.”
But he put out a video saying he would “reflect on the best path forward” for his campaign.
A Pattern of Scandals
Platner’s campaign was marked by a series of bizarre scandals, all concerning his personal conduct.
Each was accompanied by promises that no more skeletons remained, promises broken almost immediately.
Earlier, a Nazi-icon tattoo, a Totenkopf, was revealed.
Platner claimed he got it years ago while on leave with military buddies in Croatia and did not know its meaning.
People from his past contradicted this, saying he referred to it as “my Totenkopf.”
His long history of internet commentary also emerged.
Platner had suggested rural voters were bigoted and stupid, justified urinating on Taliban fighters’ bodies, and made statements like Black restaurant patrons do not tip.
He attributed these to excessive drinking and PTSD.
He pitched himself as a changed man, but more controversies kept surfacing.
An ex-girlfriend, Lyndsey Fifield, alleged to the New York Times that Platner once physically restrained her and locked her in a bedroom, leaving physical marks.
She later told the Washington Post he habitually removed condoms without consent, an act considered sexual assault in several states.
Platner’s campaign called those claims “categorically false” and “politically motivated.”
Political Reactions and Voter Sentiment
Seemingly every prominent Democrat quickly called on Platner to drop out.
But Donald Trump, accused of sexual misconduct by over two dozen women, said: “It’s really a question of whether or not you believe the woman.
A lot of people say big falsehoods.”
Some Democratic operatives had championed Platner as a macho figure to counter the party’s perceived feminization.
Social media user Ken Klippenstein wrote approvingly that Platner’s ascendance meant “the era of smoothgroin politicians is coming to an end.”
Thinktank denizen Matt Stoller called his campaign “a rejection of Dem HR lady politics.”
However, polls released just before Racicot’s allegation showed Platner trailing incumbent Republican Susan Collins among voters without a college degree.
Many said he lacked “good character” and “the right kind of moral values.”
