Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner on Monday said he’s taking “time to reflect” on his campaign’s path forward after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2021.

Platner, 41, and his campaign denied the accusations made by 41-year-old Maine resident Jenny Racicot in a Politico article published Monday. Politico reported that she accused Platner of sexual assault. Platner is a Marine veteran and oysterman who rocketed to his party’s nomination this year on a populist, progressive message.

In a video posted to X minutes after the Politico story was published, Platner denied the reporting but said the campaign is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward” as he challenges incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, for a hotly contested seat.

“I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false,” Platner said. “This movement we have built — the largest volunteer base in the history of Maine politics, the hundreds of thousands of grassroots donors, the supporters across the ideological spectrum — we were united in a love of Maine, a belief that our politics must change and a focus on defeating Susan Collins.”

Platner did not say he would drop out of the campaign, though pressure to do so is almost certain to come. Platner defeated Maine’s incumbent Gov. Janet Mills in the June Democratic primary.

Racicot told Politico that she had an on-again, off-again relationship with Platner for two years before he entered her home uninvited in 2021 while intoxicated and forced himself on her over her objections. Racicot said she remembered Platner “grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” and that she cut off communication with him after.

Politico corroborated Racicot’s account with a man she began dating after Platner, along with a friend and acquaintance. She also shared correspondence with her therapist with the publication.

The allegations are the latest in a string of accusations of malfeasance by Platner, which have rocked Democrats who are eager to defeat Collins in Maine. Former Vice President Kamala Harris won Maine by nearly 8 points in 2024, and winning the state’s Senate seat is critical to any Democratic hopes of winning back the Senate in 2026.

The New York Times in June reported that several women who dated Platner recalled “unsettling” behavior, but that article did not include an accusation of sexual assault. That article included a piece of Racicot’s story, but said she “declined to elaborate” about what happened after he showed up to her house drunk.

Platner also had a tattoo that closely resembled a Nazi symbol covered up earlier in the campaign, after photos of the tattoo became public. He said he got the tattoo while serving in the Marines and denied knowing its Nazi connotations.

Platner has repeatedly leaned on his story of military service and resulting PTSD to explain his prior behavior.

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