Rep. Ro Khanna and Sen. Ruben Gallego yanked their endorsements of Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner after Politico published an allegation that Platner broke into a woman's home in late 2021 and sexually assaulted her. Both lawmakers announced the withdrawals on X, with Khanna going further and calling on Platner to quit the race entirely.
Platner denied the accusation in a video posted to X on Monday, calling any claim of non-consensual behavior "categorically false." But his own language left the door open to an exit, saying he is "taking the time to reflect on the best path forward."
The allegation, and the speed with which members of his own party moved to distance themselves, marks the most damaging blow yet to a candidacy that was already drawing nervous glances from Democrats well before the Politico report dropped on July 6.
Jenny Racicot, 41, told Politico she had been in an on-and-off relationship with Platner. She said he came into her home uninvited one night in late 2021, was deeply intoxicated, and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop.
Racicot described the encounter in graphic terms, as reported by Breitbart News:
"I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me. I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, 'This is no longer my choice.'"
Racicot's account to Politico was not her first public statement about Platner. She had previously spoken to the New York Times as one of several women who described past relationships with the candidate. In that earlier report, she said Platner arrived at her house drunk in 2021 after she had asked him not to come over, and she described his behavior as "reckless" and "unsettling."
The Politico report, however, escalated the matter from troubling personal conduct to an explicit allegation of sexual assault, a line that forced the endorsement question.
Khanna did not hedge. His post on X framed the allegation as disqualifying:
"I've been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line. These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement."
Gallego's statement was shorter but pointed in the same direction:
"The allegations against Graham Platner are troubling and deeply serious. I am rescinding my endorsement."
Neither lawmaker left room for a wait-and-see posture. In a party that has spent years positioning itself as the political home of the #MeToo movement, the speed of the withdrawals was notable, though critics might ask why the earlier New York Times report, which included accounts from multiple women, did not trigger the same response.
The intra-party fractures over Platner are not new. Sen. John Fetterman had already publicly dismissed Platner, questioning whether the candidate was even a real Democrat. Fetterman's willingness to break with his own party's nominee stood out at the time. The Politico report now makes that early skepticism look prescient.
Platner responded with a video on X. He called the allegations false and pushed back on the reporting itself:
"I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious and false allegations against me. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false."
But the second half of his statement carried a different tone. Rather than vowing to stay in the race, Platner acknowledged the political damage and signaled uncertainty about his future:
"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."
That is not the language of a candidate who plans to fight through. "Taking the time to reflect on the best path forward" is, in political terms, the kind of phrase that precedes a withdrawal statement, not a counteroffensive.
No charges, arrests, or formal legal proceedings related to the allegation have been reported. Whether Racicot filed a police report at the time of the alleged incident remains unclear.
The Politico allegation did not land in a vacuum. The New York Times had previously reported on several women who described past relationships with Platner and raised concerns about his conduct. Among them was Lyndsey Fifield, who was involved with Platner from 2013 to 2015.
Fifield told the Times that Platner never hit her or punched her, but that during one argument he twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom, and held the door closed from the other side. That account, while short of an assault allegation, described physical intimidation that most voters would find deeply troubling in a Senate candidate.
Fetterman had also publicly criticized fellow Democrats for continuing to back Platner even after the misconduct allegations began to surface. The Pennsylvania senator's early warnings went largely unheeded by the party establishment, until the Politico report forced the issue.
Racicot's escalation from describing "reckless" and "unsettling" behavior to the Times to making a direct sexual assault allegation to Politico suggests a deliberate decision to go further on the record. The shift raises questions about what, if anything, changed between the two interviews, and whether other women who spoke to the Times may also have more to say.
Platner entered the Maine Senate race as a Democrat hoping to unseat Susan Collins. That was always going to be a steep climb. Collins is an institution in Maine politics, and recent polling has shown her holding a narrow lead over her Democratic challenger even before the sexual assault allegation became public.
Now, with two high-profile endorsements gone, a candidate publicly weighing his exit, and a growing file of personal conduct allegations, the Democratic path in Maine looks increasingly untenable.
Other Democrats had already begun to treat the Platner candidacy as damaged goods. One Pennsylvania Democrat had gone so far as to declare Platner "disqualified" as the race unraveled. Khanna's explicit call for Platner to drop out adds the weight of a sitting congressman to that verdict.
The open questions are significant. Has Platner made a final decision about staying in the race? Will other endorsers follow Khanna and Gallego? And will any law enforcement investigation follow the public allegation?
None of those answers are available yet. What is clear is that the Democratic Party's Maine Senate project is in serious trouble, and that the trouble is entirely self-inflicted.
The timeline here deserves scrutiny. The New York Times report on Platner's conduct toward women preceded the Politico allegation. Multiple women had already spoken publicly. Yet the endorsements from Khanna and Gallego apparently remained in place through all of that, until a single word, "assault," appeared in a headline.
That is the pattern voters have seen before. Democratic leaders tolerate warning signs, maintain endorsements, and wait until the political cost of association becomes unbearable before acting. The principle arrives only after the calculation.
Khanna said sexual assault is "a red line." Fair enough. But the earlier accounts of physical intimidation and unwanted contact apparently fell below that line. Voters can decide for themselves whether that distinction reflects genuine principle or political convenience.
Platner says the allegations are false. He deserves the presumption of innocence in any legal proceeding. But a Senate campaign is not a courtroom. It is a job interview conducted in public, and the applicant's own party just pulled his references.
When your own endorsers call the allegations against you "serious and credible" and tell you to quit, the race is effectively over, whether you admit it or not.
