SULLIVAN, Maine — Accused rapist Graham Platner lastly bowed out of the Maine Senate race Wednesday with a long-winded video assertion, blaming everybody however himself for his marketing campaign’s implosion.
“We imagine that for the motion to proceed, it could possibly’t be me. And for that motive we’re suspending marketing campaign operations,” Platner mentioned in a video announcement.
The announcement comes after a lady he beforehand dated, Jenny Racicot, publicly alleged that he drunkenly raped her at her Maine house in 2021 regardless of her repeated pleas to cease. Platner referred to as the allegations false and remained defiant in an 11-minute video.
Main Democrats, together with Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer, yanked their assist of him in mild of the allegations, however Platner framed it as a well-timed political hit job.
He blamed “giant forces,” “company media” and the “political institution” for attempting to power him out of the race.
“I simply need to make it clear that is all false. The issues which were claimed didn’t occur. It’s not actual,” he mentioned within the video posted on X.
Platner argued the Democratic institution used the rape allegation “as an excuse to remove all the issues that we have to run a marketing campaign.”
Contained in the Platners’ mom’s tavern moments earlier than he dropped the announcement, his mother, Leslie Harlow, saved serving prospects. She was greeted by pals who gave her an enormous hug.
It’s unclear if the information that he was dropping out had already circulated amongst his household and shut pals.
Platner had till July 13 to bow out of the intently watched race for Democrats to have the ability to simply exchange him because the social gathering battles for management of the higher chamber.
He vehemently denied the rape accusations in opposition to him however canceled his scheduled appearances and mentioned he was considering his path ahead.
Simply hours after the most recent claims, Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) issued a joint assertion denouncing Platner.
“The allegations reported right this moment are extremely disturbing – violence, abuse and sexual assault are completely unacceptable,” it mentioned.
“Graham Platner wants to right away withdraw because the Democratic nominee for Senate and permit Maine Democrats the chance to decide on a brand new candidate who can defeat Susan Collins. The DSCC [Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee] is not going to spend money on the Maine Senate race if Platner stays on the poll.”
Platner lashed out at those that deserted him and pulled his monetary assist.
“We’re going to lose our capability to fundraise. We’re going to lose our capability to entry voter knowledge. We’re going to lose all the issues that any marketing campaign wants on the fundamental degree merely to operate,” he bemoaned.
“Bigger organizations, the nationwide degree social gathering, the larger donor networks – they’ve all dedicated to spending no cash on this race if I’m in it,” Platner continued.
“They might fairly see Susan Collins win than have me be the subsequent senator from Maine,” he mentioned.
All through his marketing campaign, Platner had survived a gradual string of scandals and repeatedly insisted to the general public that he didn’t have any extra skeletons in his closet earlier than extra bombshells dropped.
He’s been accused of sexting different girls whereas married, mendacity a couple of since-removed Nazi tattoo and being untrue to girlfriends and contemptuous of girls.
Maine is broadly seen as a must-win race for Democrats with the intention to retake management of the Senate.
Most Democrats had stood by Platner all through almost all of the scandals that emerged in opposition to Platner, and he gained his major final month nonetheless.
However the rape accusations, first reported by Politico, proved to be a loss of life knell for his candidacy.
Racicot described in disturbing element how an “nearly blackout drunk” Platner entered her house with out permission one evening in 2021 after she texted him that she didn’t need to see him.
In graphic element, she recounted how she repeatedly rebuffed him, however he adopted her into the bed room and ejaculated in her.
“And, the look on his face and realizing what was occurring, I simply realized that, like, I’m in a state of affairs the place there’s no consent right here,” she informed Politico.
Right here’s the most recent on the bombshell sexual assault allegations which compelled Graham Platner to drop out of Maine Senate race :
“One of many causes I didn’t come ahead sooner was, the large ethical battle that I had between supporting his politics, however not supporting him as an individual,” Racicot informed the outlet. “I simply need the reality on the market. I simply need individuals to have an entire scope of who he’s as an individual.”
Requested by CNN whether or not she was alleging that he raped her, Racicot responded: “By definition, sure, completely sure.”
Forward of the July 13 deadline, Democratic operatives scrambled to get as a lot grime on Platner to the general public as a part of an obvious strain marketing campaign to power him out of the race.
The nonprofit group Reckoning Motion, which was based by progressive lawyer Cheyenne Hunt, bought involved with Racicot, in keeping with Politico.
Hunt endorsed Platner late final yr, however backed off after accusations of him being tough with girls had been reported by the New York Occasions final month. Hunt additionally backed girls who made accusations in opposition to disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.)
Platner had defied the Democratic institution by taking down Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) in a major and clinching the nomination final month, regardless of fears that there was extra to come back out about him. Mills suspended her marketing campaign in April, weeks earlier than the first contest happened.
Forward of the first, Platner was hit with accusations from a number of previous girlfriends who accused him of troubling habits.
One of many girls, Lyndsey Fifield, claimed that he as soon as twisted her arm behind her again earlier than trapping her in a room and, at one other level, yanked her out of a cab by the wrists.
Platner denied these accusations, claiming they had been “politically motivated.”
After Racicot went public together with her rape declare, Fifield got here ahead with one more stunning allegation in opposition to Platner — that he repeatedly eliminated his condom throughout intercourse with out asking permission.
“He would pull condoms off,” Lyndsey Fifield mentioned in an interview with the Washington Submit. “He would do it in a sneaky method. He wouldn’t inform me.”
“I confronted him each throughout and after [sex] as a result of he knew that I used to be not on contraception and the way harmful that was,” Fifield added. “He would act like cute about it, like ‘Oh sneaky me.’”
Fifield’s account was corroborated by a good friend of her’s, who described how Fifield — who was not on contraception — was left “extraordinarily indignant concerning the state of affairs and about what he had finished.”
Platner’s marketing campaign once more informed the outlet Fifield’s allegation was “categorically false and politically motivated.”
Fifield and one other former flame of his additionally had non-public messages with confidants describing Platner’s skull-and-crossbones tattoo as a Nazi image lengthy earlier than it was publicly recognized.
Revelations that Platner had a tattoo on his chest resembling a Totenkopf, which was utilized by the Nazi Schutzstaffel or SS. He claims he bought that ink whereas inebriated in Croatia in 2007 and has since lined it up.
In late Could, it emerged that Platner allegedly cheated on his spouse, with whom he had tied the knot in 2023, and had an account on Kik, an nameless platform used for hookups. Platner’s profile confirmed him shirtless with a towel over his waist and his telephone blocking the Nazi tattoo.
Forward of the first race, his former marketing campaign political director, Genevieve McDonald, penned a blistering Washington Submit op-ed telling Maine voters that Platner was unfit to turn out to be a senator.
On Reddit, Platner beforehand trashed a Purple Coronary heart veteran, defended urinating on useless Taliban fighters, prompt that sexual assault victims ought to “take some accountability,” argued that rural voters are racist, and extra.
Whoever Democrats faucet to interchange him should face off in opposition to incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who has a historical past of outperforming polls.
Maine Democrats have promised an “open” and “clear” course of to decide on one other candidate for the poll.
Platner’s workforce, nevertheless, has “repeatedly reached out” to the state social gathering “in an try to put their thumb on the dimensions of what this course of appears to be like like,” Maine Democratic Celebration Government Director Devon Murphy-Anderson revealed Tuesday.
“Now we have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner’s workforce that they don’t have any position in figuring out our subsequent Democratic nominee for the US Senate, nor in figuring out what this course of appears to be like like,” Murphy-Anderson mentioned in a video posted on X.
Prior Murphy-Anderson’s criticism, The Submit reported that Platner was refusing to bow out of the race except he was given the prospect to approve his successor.
A supply aware of the marketing campaign discussions mentioned Platner, his marketing campaign and political strategist Morris Katz had been demanding that his substitute share his left-wing values.
