The Maine woman who said Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner raped her in 2021 told CNN on Monday that he entered her home uninvited and appeared too intoxicated to understand her objections.
Jenny Racicot told CNN’s Jake Tapper that she complied with Platner once she recognized how intoxicated Platner was and concluded that resisting physically carried more risk.
Racicot said she and Platner had been in an on-and-off, casual relationship since meeting on the dating app Bumble in 2019. She said she told him by text not to come over the night of the alleged assault, but he arrived roughly 30 minutes later anyway, letting himself into her unlocked home.
Racicot’s account, first reported by Politico on Monday, is the most detailed and serious allegation to emerge from Platner’s past relationships. Platner has denied sexually assaulting her, but Democrats are abandoning him en masse, with the state party and its Senate campaign arm disavowing his campaign alongside top state and national elected leaders.
It added to past scandals that rocked Platner’s campaign. Three other women described “unsettling” and toxic behavior by Platner in a New York Times story last month, though none alleged assault. Racicot was quoted in that story describing Platner’s conduct only as “reckless,” saying she did not discuss the sexual assault at that time to protect her privacy.
She told CNN that Platner climbed on top of her on her couch and made his intentions clear despite her objections, saying she hit his hand and said “don’t touch me” after he grabbed at her chest. Racicot said she recognized in his eyes that he was too intoxicated to register what she was telling him.
She said an antique sewing kit was knocked over and spilled during a brief physical struggle before she stopped resisting.
“Complying is not consenting,” Racicot said.
She said Platner did not use protection despite her objection, and that when she confronted him the next morning, he said he did not remember the previous night. She said she cut off all contact with him afterward and did not report the incident to police.
Platner posted a video statement Monday denying the allegation and saying he was weighing the future of his campaign, but has not committed to staying in the race. He has until 5 p.m. July 13 to decide; Democrats would have until July 27 to name a replacement.
The Platner campaign, in a statement to supporters signed by campaign manager Ben Chin, called the allegations “categorically false” while acknowledging the political stakes.
“Regardless of the accuracy of the reporting, we recognize the political reality of what this moment means and the uncertainty it creates,” Chin wrote. “All options remain on the table, and every decision will be guided by the values that brought us together in the first place.”
Racicot said she supports Platner’s political positions and understands why some Democrats may still back his candidacy despite her account. Asked whether Democrats who say they believe her but will vote for Platner anyway should trouble her, Racicot said she has friends in that position.
“I understand that the state of our political environment is so much so that we need a lot of change, and he’s offering that change,” Racicot said. “I’m not mad at anyone who has voted for him all along. If he wasn’t who he was, I would be voting for him as well.”