Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner's campaign is unraveling after a former girlfriend accused him of rape, prompting key party leaders to call for his withdrawal from the race. Jenny Racicot told Politico and CNN that Platner, with whom she had an on-again, off-again relationship, barged into her home uninvited and intoxicated in 2021 and raped her despite her protests. The allegation surfaced less than a week before the deadline for Platner to withdraw, after which the Democratic Party could replace him with another nominee.
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, and Representative Ro Khanna of California have all pulled their support for Platner. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who endorsed Platner just 11 days after he launched his campaign and stood by him through earlier controversies, also called on Platner to end his candidacy on Tuesday. Republicans have questioned why Democratic leadership took so long to revoke support despite the mounting controversies surrounding Platner.
The rape allegation is the latest in a series of scandals that have plagued Platner's campaign since October 2025. The first major controversy erupted on October 16, when CNN uncovered years of deleted Reddit posts Platner made between 2009 and 2021. In those posts, Platner described himself as a «communist,» wrote that «all» police were bastards, and argued that many rural white Americans «actually are» racist and unintelligent. Other posts reflected how his combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan had reshaped his politics, with Platner writing that America's wars had left him disillusioned and «significantly more left» than when he enlisted.
Days later, additional reporting drew scrutiny to other deleted posts, including one in which Platner appeared to downplay concerns about sexual assault. In that post, Platner wrote that people should «take some responsibility for themselves» and avoid becoming so intoxicated that they end up in compromising situations. The Maine Monitor later compiled more than 2,000 of Platner's Reddit posts into a database. Platner distanced himself from the posts, telling CNN at the time that he was «f------ around the internet» and struggling in his return to civilian life after serving overseas. «I don't want people to see me for who I was in my worst Internet comment—or even frankly who I was in my best Internet comment,» Platner said. «I don't think any of that is indicative of who I am today, really.»
At the time the Reddit posts resurfaced, Sanders and Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona stood by Platner. Gallego said Platner had «the right to grow out of his stupidity.» Sanders, who endorsed Platner just eleven days after his campaign launch, said, «There's a young man who served his country in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he went through some really difficult experiences seeing friends of his killed or whatever, and in spite of all of that he had the courage to run.»
Platner faced another controversy after his campaign released a video on October 21 showing him dancing shirtless at his brother's wedding. The footage revealed a chest tattoo that critics said resembled the Nazi SS Totenkopf, or «Death's Head,» symbol, prompting widespread condemnation and renewed questions about his judgment. Platner said he got the tattoo while drinking with fellow Marines in Croatia in 2007 and believed it was simply a skull-and-crossbones design commemorating surviving combat. He said he was unaware of its association with Nazi Germany until the issue surfaced during his Senate campaign, apologized, and initially pledged to have it removed before instead covering it with a Celtic knot tattoo.
The controversy intensified after subsequent reporting questioned Platner's claim that he had been unaware of the symbol's meaning, citing former acquaintances and past online activity suggesting he may have known its meaning years earlier. Platner rejected those claims. In the aftermath, Sanders brushed off concerns over Platner's tattoo, arguing there were more important issues. «I'm not overly impressed by a squad of media running around saying, 'What do you think about the tattoo on Graham Platner's chest?'» Sanders told Axios.
The New York Times reported on May 30 that Platner's wife, Amy Gertner, had privately informed senior campaign officials that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with other women during the early years of their marriage, raising concerns about the political fallout. Platner was using the app Kik to send messages and photos to women. Former campaign political director Genevieve McDonald said Gertner told her that her husband had been exchanging sexual messages with as many as a dozen women, while another campaign official said the number was lower and that the conduct had ended years ago.
As the rape allegation and prior scandals mount, Platner's campaign appears to be hanging by a thread, with key Democratic allies now calling for his exit and the party facing a tight deadline to replace him on the ballot.
