Platner weighs future bid after new report alleges sexual assault

Democrat Graham Platner said he is "taking time to reflect" on his campaign to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins amid a new allegation from a Maine woman who said he sexually assaulted her nearly five years ago.

Platner denied the allegation and has repeatedly objected to such charges.

A 41-year-old Maine resident named Jenny Racicot told POLITICO that she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner, the current Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, for more than two years before Platner allegedly entered her home uninvited one night in late 2021 while intoxicated and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop.

Raciot told the outlet she cut off contact with him after telling him the encounter was not consensual.

Platner denied the allegations.

"These allegations are troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue," he said in a statement provided to USA TODAY.

Following the Politico story, Platner reiterated his denial in a video post on social media the afternoon of June 6. He had also canceled several events on the campaign trail.

"We were united in a love of Maine, a belief that our politics must change, and a focus on defeating Susan Collins," Platner said.

"Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward, for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins, Those were the goals when we launched this campaign, and they remain my goals today."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Platner weighs future bid after new report alleges sexual assault

Reporting by Terry Collins and Margie Cullen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published July 6, 2026 at 4:10 PM.