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Wednesday, July 8, 2026

New explosive allegation rocks Platner campaign still reeling from rape accusation

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Wed, Jul 8, 2026 12:06 AM
New explosive allegation rocks Platner campaign still reeling from rape accusation

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Embattled U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner was hit with a second explosive allegation of sexual impropriety only about 24 hours after he was accused of rape — all while a major campaign decision deadline looms.

In a new report published by The Washington Post, the candidate from Maine was accused of removing condoms during sex with his ex-girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield after she explicitly directed him to wear them.

"He would pull condoms off," she told The Washington Post. "He would do it in a sneaky way. He wouldn’t tell me."

Graham Platner speaks during television interview in Portland.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner participated in a television interview on May 1, 2026, in Portland, Maine, following a campaign event with the Maine AFL-CIO. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)

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Fifield, 41, previously accused Platner of physical misconduct during their relationship, saying that he sometimes grabbed her hard enough to leave marks on her body, and that one time he twisted her arm around her back, pushed her into a bedroom and held the door shut until she "calmed down."

Those concerns were largely dismissed by Platner's supporters, who characterized Fifield, who used to work at The Heritage Foundation, of being a conservative operative.

"I confronted him both during and after [sex] because he knew that I was not on birth control and how dangerous that was," she told The Post, who said that Fifield made the allegations in a previous interview with the outlet, but strictly off the record.

Graham Platner speaks at an election watch party after wining the Senate Democratic nomination.

Graham Platner addresses the crowd at his watch party after wining the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate at a YMCA in Blue Hill, Maine, June 9th 2026. Platner, who has drawn critcism for his history of having an Nazi tattoo among other transgressions, will face Republican Senator Susan Collins in the election for the seat. (Matthew Symons for Fox News Digital)

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"He would act like cute about it, like ‘Oh sneaky me,'" she said, according to the report.

In a statement to The Washington Post, the Platner campaign reportedly said that Fifield's latest allegations were "categorically false and politically motivated."

Platner is running to oust Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins.

Monday, the oyster farmer, whose campaign has been dogged by scandal since last year, was accused of rape by another woman.

In this photo provided by WGME, Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a cover-up tattoo that had previously been an image recognized as a Nazi symbol, during an interview on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Portland, Maine.

Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a covered tattoo that had previously been an image recognized as a Nazi symbol, during an interview on Wednesday in Portland, Me. (WGME via AP)

PLATNER'S LATEST ACCUSER CLAIMS THE DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE 'ABSOLUTELY' RAPED HER

Jenny Racicot, 41, told POLITICO that Platner drunkenly entered her home while they were on-again, off-again romantic partners in 2021, and raped her. She claimed that he ejaculated inside her after she told him to stop multiple times.

"I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me," Racicot told the outlet, which she said took place while Platner was "almost blackout drunk" in Washington, D.C. "I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’"

Graham Platner speaking at rally

U.S. Senate candidate from Maine Graham Platner speaks during a campaign event at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6859 on May 17, 2026, in Portland, Maine. During the event, he received an endorsement from the Veterans for Responsible Leadership and hosted a veterans town hall to answer questions and discuss ending the war in Iran. Platner is expected to be the presumptive Democratic nominee and would face off against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) for the Senate seat in the general election. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Platner categorically denied those allegations, too, in a video released in the immediate aftermath of the publication of the POLITICO story.

He said his campaign was taking time to assess possible next steps, as a major deadline in the race looms.

Platner must withdraw from the race by 5:00 p.m. on next Monday, July 13, if another Democratic candidate, who would be chosen by the party, is to replace him before the November general election.

Monday evening into Tuesday, a litany of previous supporters dropped their endorsements of Platner and called for him to drop out of the race, including progressive Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., two of his most ardent backers.

"Now more than ever we need leaders in Washington who reflect our values. There can be no tolerance for sexual assault," Warren said in a statement Monday night.

Elizabeth Warren speaking during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts and ranking member of Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, speaks during a hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (Kent Nishimura / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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"Working families are counting on Democrats to win the Senate election in Maine to unrig our economy and hold Donald Trump accountable. With so much at stake, the best path forward is for Graham Platner to step aside as the Democratic nominee and address these serious allegations outside this Senate race."

"I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine," Sanders said in a statement midday Tuesday. "In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside."

Sen. Bernie Sanders

Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont and ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, arrives for a confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Fox News Digital reached out to Platner's campaign for comment.

Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

Peter D'Abrosca is a politics reporter at Fox News Digital.

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