Graham Platner Posts Video Saying He’s ‘Suspending Campaign Operations’ — Insists Accusations Are ‘All False’

Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo

Graham Platner is suspending his campaign, the embattled Maine Senate candidate announced in a video he posted on social media Wednesday evening.

Platner’s campaign has been plagued by a series of scandals, including a Nazi Totenkopf tattoo he later had covered, offensive Reddit posts, accusations he was sexting women other than his wife, and then, most disturbingly, accusations that he was physically aggressive and even abusive with some of the women he dated.

Jenny Racicot, a 41-year-old resident of Maine, told Politico that Platner had sexually assaulted her, speaking to the outlet’s reporters on three separate occasions.

Racicot had previously been quoted in a New York Times article about Platner in which she accused him of “reckless” and “unsettling” behavior but that had been overshadowed by accusations from another Platner ex, Lyndsey Fifield, that he was physically rough with her. Fifield’s accusations were initially dismissed by many of Platner’s defenders due to her conservative politics and what details were included or emphasized in the Times‘ coverage; several Democrats have admitted they were mistaken.

During an interview with CNN anchor Jake Tapper, Racicot described Platner as “heavily intoxicated” during the incident and said she “absolutely” views what happened to her as “rape.” She described in detail how Platner came to her home uninvited and forced himself on her, despite her repeatedly telling him “no.”

Racicot told Tapper that she felt “afraid for her safety” because Platner’s “level of intoxication” was so high “he wasn’t listening to me,” and thought it was not “safe to physically fight back” because Platner was “big” and “strong” and she didn’t “know what this person is capable of” in that moment.

After Racicot came forward accusing Platner of rape, Fifield also told additional details about her relationship with Platner that she had previously only shared off the record, including accusing him of removing condoms during sex without her consent.

Platner has repeatedly denied Racicot and Fifield’s accusations.

That has not been enough to alleviate the concerns of his fellow Democrats, with a growing list publicly revoking their endorsements of Platner and calling on him to drop out of the race, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), one of Platner’s most important early supporters. The Maine Democratic Party has even urged him to step aside.

He already won Maine’s primary, but under state law, there was still a short period of time during which he could be replaced on the ballot. Democrats view Maine’s Senate seat, currently held by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), as a must-win for them to take back the majority, and Platner’s scandals were dragging down his poll numbers.

In the eleven-minute-plus long video, Platner insisted that the allegations of sexual assault against him are “all false,” but he is nonetheless suspending his campaign operations.

“These things that have been claimed, did not happen,” he said. “It’s not real.”

Platner spends a lot of the video angrily insisting Racicot and Fifield’s accusations were “not remotely true” (without ever mentioning their names), and complaining that he learned about their accusations “through the media” and had “no time to truly respond, no time for investigations, before a corporate media system and the political establishment got to act as judge, jury, and executioner.”

He argued that these accusations were coming because of the looming July 13 deadline “to try and get me off of the ballot,” and “that’s why this is occurring,” to keep “normal people” from running and “movements like ours” from succeeding.

He insisted he could still win, but had to admit defeat because “the brutal political reality is that they’re going to take everything away from us,” using the allegations against him “as an excuse to take away everything we need to run a campaign,” including fundraising, access to voter data, and other basic campaign functional needs.

Platner blasted the local, state, and national party organizations and large donor networks for telling him they would spend no money on the campaign if he stayed on the ballot. “They would rather see Susan Collins win than have me be the next Senator from Maine,” he said bitterly.

“We believe for the movement to continue, it can’t be me, and for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations,” Platner said.

He called his withdrawal “incredibly difficult” and insisted again it was “not an admission of guilt.”

The deadline under Maine’s election law to finalize the November general election ballot is, as Platner mentioned in the video, on July 13, just five days away. Platner’s withdrawal means the Maine Secretary of State can declare a vacancy for Democratic nominee for Senate and allow the state party to choose a replacement. The deadline, according to The Washington Post, is July 27 at 5 p.m. ET.

The Maine Democratic Party posted a statement on social media Wednesday evening, before Platner announced he was dropping out, saying that the party had “held a meeting with over 100 state committee members who voted to hold a nominating convention to choose a new nominee if there is a vacancy to fill,” vowing that they would share the timeline details and requirements for candidates coon and “will keep the public informed throughout the process” because “transparency is of the utmost importance.”

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