Is Graham Platner finished? It looks that way. No sooner had the Senate candidate from Maine categorically denied a new allegation of sexual impropriety revealed in a July 6 Politico article than he announced he was “taking time to reflect” on his candidacy.
By mid-morning on July 6, rumors were swirling that the troubled Maine Democrat was about to be hit with yet another scandal. Platner was hoping to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November, and, at one point, he seemed on track to probably do just that. But the would-be senator’s campaign began to buckle under the weight of various sordid allegations and unearthed Reddit posts that, taken altogether, paint a picture of a man with violent fantasies who hates just about everyone, it could be said: the police, the military, women in general, and the constitutional republic in which he experienced a privileged upbringing.
Platner had already scrubbed three planned campaign events for, at the time, undisclosed reasons.
Then there was that SS Totenkopf (death’s head) tattoo, of course. Platner attempted to feign ignorance of the link between the symbol and the Nazi paramilitary Schutzstaffel – the feared organization that spearheaded Adolf Hitler’s efforts to wipe out European Jewry. But an ex-girlfriend said he spoke with her about the tattoo on his chest and was well aware of its association.
Graham Platner Accused of Rape
Jenny Racicot, a 41-year-old resident of Maine (not the ex already mentioned), sat for three interviews with Politico. Several years ago, Racicot was in a casual relationship with Graham Platner. One night, he showed up at her house uninvited and, she says, forced her to have sex with him.
Racicot described repeatedly refusing Platner’s advances but said he was highly intoxicated and wouldn’t take no for an answer. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice,’” She recalled.
This isn’t some politically motivated accusation. Racicot agrees with Platner’s politics. She had previously spoken to The New York Times, describing Platner’s “reckless” and “unsettling” behavior. Racicot says she didn’t come forward sooner because she did not want to be known as a rape victim – but also, because she supported Platner the candidate for office, if not Graham Platner the man.
“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,” Racicot told Politico.
Soon after this story broke, Democrats began leaving the sinking Platner ship. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who stood firmly behind Graham Platner, even after the revealing of the Nazi tattoo and various unsavory Reddit posts, said on X, “I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line. These allegations are very serious and credible.” Khanna added, “Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.”
The Maine Democratic Party has also called on the candidate to withdraw from the Senate race – and he would need to do so by July 13, so that state Democrats can officially signal their intent to select an alternative candidate, in accordance with the state’s election laws.
One might think this is, in fact, a good thing for Democrats. They will be rid of a candidate with more skeletons than a big-city cemetery if Graham Platner bows out. Then again, as the party bends the knee to so-called “Democratic Socialists,” it seems they have no qualms at all about putting up congressional candidates with unsavory histories. Until this latest allegation proved too much, Platner was considered one of the new rising radical stars of a party that tried and failed to survive on Trump Derangement Syndrome alone and then submitted to a socialist makeover to keep it afloat.
