Update: That didn't take long... key democrats including Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Rep. Ro Khanna have pulled their endorsements of Platner following the allegations, according to Fox News' Bill Melugin.
BREAKING: Sen. Gallego (D-AZ) withdraws his Platner endorsement shortly after Rep. Khanna (D-CA) does the same.
The dam is breaking. https://t.co/4T5JEmc5kx
"These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement," Khanna wrote on X.
I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line. These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) July 6, 2026Looks like he's done?
//--> //--> Will Graham Platner drop out by July 31?* * * Extremely high quality (BMS 7+) Wagyu. The fat just melts like butter...
Graham Platner's Senate campaign was thrown into turmoil Monday after a woman publicly accused him of sexual assault in a detailed report published by Politico.
Jenny Racicot, a 41-year-old Maine woman, told reporters Jessica Piper and Adam Wren that Platner sexually assaulted her in late 2021, near the end of an on-and-off consensual relationship that began after the two matched on Bumble in 2019. Before publishing the allegations, Politico interviewed Racicot three times over two weeks, spoke with a man she dated after Platner, and reviewed therapist emails and years-old Facebook messages.
Racicot said she texted Platner that night, telling him not to come over. Then she heard footsteps on the stairs. Platner had let himself into her unlocked rural home, and by her account, he smelled of alcohol and hovered near blackout drunk. She said he climbed on top of her on the couch and kept grabbing her as she told him to stop, knocking over an antique sewing kit and scattering needles without pausing. When she tried to leave the room, he followed her into the bedroom and had sex with her against her will.
"I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me," she said. "I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, 'This is no longer my choice.'"
He fell asleep in her bed. She said she considered forcing him out but feared a blackout-drunk driver on rural Maine roads might kill someone. The next morning, when he tried to put his arm around her, she pushed him away and asked if he remembered the night before. He said he did not. She told him to leave and never contact her again.
Racicot waited several weeks, making sure she was sure she was not pregnant from the assault, before sending Platner an Instagram message stating the encounter was not consensual. That message no longer exists because Racicot deleted her old texts and social media exchanges with him and could not recover them for Politico. Nor did she file a police report, citing shock, confusion, and fear of retaliation. Her therapist heard the account at the time, and emails Racicot shared with the paper show that she sought help to corroborate it. A man Racicot began dating in 2022 also said she described the incident in pieces before sharing the full account in 2023, and his version matched hers.
Politico also reviewed Facebook messages from 2023 in which Racicot warned an acquaintance against getting involved with Platner, telling her that he does not listen when he is drunk. A friend she confided in last summer recalled her describing him as very drunk and unwilling to accept no as an answer.
Platner's campaign called the allegations a coordinated hit by outside political operatives and noted the story landed about a week before Maine's ballot deadline, echoing the timing of allegations that surfaced before the primary. The problem is that Racicot's politics align with Platner's, and her hesitation to come forward stemmed from a conflict between supporting his platform and disapproving of him as a person; she wanted voters to have a full picture of who he is.
The New York Times contacted her in spring 2026, and she shared the assault claim off the record; the resulting article described his behavior in general terms while coverage centered on accuser Lyndsey Fifield, whose Republican ties gave Platner's allies an angle to deflect the accusations, which ultimately did not impact his campaign. His candidacy had already survived offensive online comments and earlier claims he mistreated women, which he denied while attributing past behavior to mental health struggles and alcohol abuse. Prior to the New York Times story, Platner had assured Senate Democrats that no more scandals would come out about him.
June 10 pic.twitter.com/oXp7ztcHRA
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) July 6, 2026Despite the damning allegations in the New York Times story, Platner raised more than $200,000 after the story came out, his best fundraising day since Gov. Janet Mills exited the race. After seeing Fifield's account get minimized because of her politics, Racicot was convinced she had to come forward.
In a video statement posted on social media, Platner denied the allegations but said he was taking time off to reflect on the path forward.
"I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me," Platner said. "Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false." He thanked supporters for building "the largest volunteer base in the history of Maine politics" before arriving at the sentence that counts. "So regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins," he said. He closed with a vow that "you never turned your back on me, and I will not turn my back on you now," and the sign-off, "As Maine goes, so goes the nation."
pic.twitter.com/9itIt4Mw25
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 6, 2026Maine law gives Democrats until July 14 for Platner to drop out of the race and still legally replace him with another candidate.
Tyler Durden Tue, 07/07/2026 - 14:05Dramatic video from inside the former Pfizer headquarters tower in Midtown Manhattan shows large I-beams buckling, and officials are warning of a possible collapse.
The 33-story high-rise at 235 East 42nd Street is undergoing a major office-to-residential conversion, one of the largest projects of its kind in the New York City metro area.
WATCH: New York City's biggest office-to-residential conversion just hit an unexpected obstacle.
Buckling columns and falling bricks forced an evacuation at the former Pfizer headquarters. pic.twitter.com/anXDOmBSfw
Local media outlet Pix 11 cited the FDNY, which said floors 21 through 26 have caved in, and major cracks and sagging floors were seen throughout the tower.
Video shows two columns buckled inside a Midtown building under construction. Dozens were evacuated and multiple streets were closed at the height of rush hour. See the full story : https://t.co/lgH632z6TN pic.twitter.com/7eYIZtJNPI
— PIX11 News (@PIX11News) July 7, 2026A union member working on the site told local media that workers allegedly failed to add sufficient steel support columns to handle the additional load from a new structure being built atop the original building.
"What happened here is that this building was renovated. They were going to add another 16 stories to it. But at that point you need to add more steel. And obviously they did not add the right amount of steel - so the north side of the building is crumbling. The I-beams are bending like cigarettes," the union member said
NOW: "The North Side of that Building is CRUMBLING" -
Construction Worker speaks about the former Pfizer HQ building, which is in danger of COLLAPSE in Manhattan.
Licensing @FreedomNTV desk@freedomnews.tv pic.twitter.com/FNvDJpF5A1
The New York Times reported that the building is being converted by Metro Loft into a residential tower with more than 1,600 apartments. Architects have described it as the largest project of its kind in NYC history, and it is scheduled to be completed in 2027.
The former Pfizer tower is part of a larger push to convert underused Midtown office space into residential units as NYC seeks to ease its housing shortage.
Tyler Durden Tue, 07/07/2026 - 13:40