I was wrong about Graham Platner. He needs to drop out. | Opinion
Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine, announced on July 6 that he was "taking time to reflect" following a Politico report that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2021. If he values the state he loves and values the Democratic cause, he will do more than reflect – he will exit the race.
The story is the final blow to a campaign that was marred by Platner's past. He already answered for a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, concerning Reddit posts and extramarital affairs earlier in the campaign.
But this new accusation is different, perhaps in part because it is the latest in a concerning pattern of behavior. The candidate has lost any grace he had earned through his politics.
Democrats, both within the state of Maine and nationally, have abandoned Platner. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, told him to drop out of the race. The establishment is right to do so – there is no way that Platner can win in the November midterm elections with these sorts of allegations trailing him, and Democrats shouldn't want him representing the party.
What are the allegations against Graham Platner?
Jenny Racicot, a 41-year-old Maine resident who dated Platner from 2019 to 2021, detailed the alleged assault after previously alluding to it in a New York Times story. She went into further detail with Politico, saying that he came to her home uninvited and drunk one night. She then said he forced himself on her, while she repeatedly told him to stop.
"I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me," Racicot told Politico. "I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.' "
Racicot has not changed her story once. Politico reporters corroborated her story with multiple people, including another romantic partner and her therapist. She cut ties with Platner after the alleged assault, telling him at the time that it had not been consensual.
Platner has denied the allegations.
"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," Platner said in a video posted to social media.
I said earlier that Platner should be the Democratic candidate. I was wrong.
Back in May, I wrote that I was willing to overlook the thornier areas of Platner's past in hopes of a candidate who could unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who has made a career of pearl-clutching over Trump's comments and actions while voting with him and Republicans most of the time.
I still believe Mainers deserve better than Collins – but they deserve better than Platner, too.
Platner had also won me over with his perceived willingness to take accountability for previous wrongdoings. Yet he seems incapable of doing so in this instance, looking to place the blame for a career-ending allegation on flawed reporting.
At the very least, he could have offered words of support for survivors of sexual abuse.
I can't deny that there is part of me who finds it frustrating that the Democratic Party is the only one having these conversations. The president of the United States has been accused of sexual misconduct by at least 18 women over the course of his political life. Trump was even found guilty by a judge of sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll.
I hope that we one day live in a country where sexual assault claims on both sides of the political spectrum are taken seriously enough to sink any political career, even if the politician is well-liked.
I am glad that these conversations are willing to be had on the left – even if the best scenario would be for us to not need to have these conversations at all.
There are other Democrats waiting in the wings to take Platner's spot as the Democratic nominee for Senate should he choose to drop out before a state deadline on July 13. At the very least, Maine deserves a candidate who can beat Collins. Platner is unlikely to do so.
Yet the story of a survivor should be enough to lead to Platner's withdrawal from the race – not because it hurts his prospects, but because it's morally the right thing to do.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on Bluesky:@sarapequeno.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: I was wrong about Graham Platner. He needs to drop out. | Opinion
Reporting by Sara Pequeño, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 3:04 AM.