Platner blames 'political establishment' and 'corporate media' for derailing bid, denies accusations

Former Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner just suspended campaign operations, and is claiming he did nothing wrong and that he’s not participating in the race anymore because of “structural pressure” from the Democratic political establishment.

Platner posted an 11-minute video on X announcing his bid suspension, saying it is “incredibly difficult” because “some will think it’s an admission of guilt, and it most certainly is not," following this week's allegations that he forced a woman to have sex with him in 2021.

Maine resident Jenny Racicot, 41, told Politico that on the night of the incident, Platner entered her home — uninvited and very intoxicated — and forced himself upon her despite repeated objections. Racicot and Platner had an on-and-off relationship, she said.

"I learned about this through press inquiries with no time to truly respond, no time for investigations before a corporate media system and the political establishment got to act as judge, jury and executioner," Platner said in the video. He said he's suspending the campaign not because of “false allegations,” but “because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power.”

Politico also reported that it spoke with a man Racicot dated in the years after her alleged incident and reviewed documents such as emails between Racicot and an individual whom she warned against becoming involved with Platner in the years leading up to him running for office.

"The things that have been claimed did not happen," Platner said. "It's not real."

Both New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, called Platner this week and urged him to drop out of the race. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Washington Democrats also pulled their support.

Racicot's accusations came the same day that Platner canceled several campaign events and reports of him possibly dropping out of the Senate race surfaced. His campaign had also already been undermined by allegations of toxic behavior toward former girlfriends in addition to evidence of him sending sexually explicit texts to women early in his marriage to Amy Gertner.

Platner believes the timeline of the allegations surfacing against him is intentional: "I only have until July 13 until I am officially the nominee. This was the last week to try to get me off of the ballot. And that's why this is occurring."

He also said the current political system is "not built for normal people," but instead "built structurally to make sure that movements like ours cannot flourish."

Katherine Pugh is a reporter for Just the News. Follow her on X for more coverage.