The US Senate campaign of Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee in Maine, is close to collapse after a woman he had previously dated, Jenny Racicot, publicly accused him of raping her in 2021. The allegation matters because it has prompted senior Democrats who had backed Platner to withdraw their support and urge him to quit, casting doubt on the party's prospects in a contest seen as important to control of the Senate ahead of the midterms.

Racicot told Politico and CNN that Platner, with whom she had an on-again, off-again relationship, entered her home uninvited and intoxicated and raped her despite her protests. The claim emerged less than a week before the deadline for Platner to withdraw, after which the Democratic Party could replace him. It follows a string of earlier controversies since October 2025, including a Nazi-linked chest tattoo, accusations of physical abuse from former girlfriends, and resurfaced Reddit posts in which he described himself as a "communist". Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Representative Ro Khanna have all pulled their backing, while Republicans have questioned why party leaders stood by him for so long.