Maine Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner is facing newly reported allegations from ex-girlfriends, including at least one accusation that he physically harmed a woman.
The combat veteran, 41, is running for Republican Sen. Susan Collins’ seat in Maine. Three women the candidate previously dated came forward with allegations of “toxic” relationships to the The New York Times (NYT). One woman accused him of physically threatening her.
Three women who dated Graham Platner, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine, told The New York Times they found his actions intimidating and disturbing, describing volatile relationships. https://t.co/ClaeKxVUEs
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 4, 2026
An ex-girlfriend, Lyndsey Fifield, told NYT that while Platner never punched or hit her during their relationship, he did allegedly grasp her shoulders, sometimes to the extent that he left marks.
On a separate occasion, Platner allegedly “yanked her out of a cab by her wrist after an argument when she wanted to stay in the car,” according to the outlet. (RELATED: Democrats Thought They Found The Perfect Conservative Archetype To Dupe Voters. Turns Out He’s Awful Just Like Them)
Fifield has worked for Republican campaigns and conservative groups, the outlet reported.
Fifield also shared a story of an argument that allegedly escalated to the point that Platner “twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom and held the door closed from the other side so she couldn’t get out,” ordering her to stay there until she was “calm.”
Fifield woke up in that closet the next morning, she recounted to the NYT. “It hurt,” she said, but noted she was uninjured.
Platner denied claims of physical altercations or intimidation, his campaign told the outlet.
He also allegedly told Fifield that rape was about power.
“He said this a lot: If anybody ever broke in here, I would rape them,” she recalled, alleging he added that it would not be in “a sexual way, not in a gay way.”
“He was like, I would rape them to show them that I’m dominant,” she alleged. (RELATED: ‘I Do Love Gays’: Democrat Senate Candidate Butchers Left’s Favorite Acronym In Bid To Seem Inclusive)
🚨 JUST IN: A New York Times report says Maine US Senate candidate Graham Platner (D) defended saying he’d R*PE people to show dominance, his prior partners said he was “physically threatening” to them
Platner also admitted he knew he had a Nazi tattoo and called it “my… pic.twitter.com/j8miZETNtw
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 4, 2026
Platner admitted to covering up a tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol, which he got while he was serving in the Marines, according to a previous NYT coverage on the candidate. He claimed he was drunk and was at the time unaware of the tattoo’s relation to the Nazi’s.
NYT Platner piece is out. Hearing it withholds significant allegations & that the paper possesses more than what they published here. Not sure whether this story will be the final word here. Leaks earlier today from DemWorld (see below) suggest they were bracing for accusations… pic.twitter.com/P0EvLRlM6h
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) June 4, 2026
Platner told NYT, in part, that he had “too often self medicated with alcohol, and was a far from perfect boyfriend” during an era he looks back on as “very dark period of [his] life.”
“I take responsibility for all of that, and wish I had been better,” he told NYT. “Any characterization beyond that is false, and I believe, politically motivated. I’m not proud of who I was then, but I am proud of the work I’ve done since, and the movement we are building in Maine.”
One ex-girlfriend, who asked the outlet to remain anonymous, is a Democrat from Maine. In her experience, throughout their long distance relationship that ended around 2016, she felt like she was “collateral damage to the world that is his.”
Another Maine Democrat, 41-year-old Jenny Racicot, told the NYT she had an on-and-off relationship with him from 2019 to 2021.
“When I saw the old comments that he made online,” she said, “I recognized a version of him that I had experiences with.”
He was also accused by some women of being routinely unfaithful, according to the outlet’s report. Platner has also sparked backlash for his posts on Reddit, including one instance where he ridiculed a wounded U.S. soldier. (RELATED: Graham Platner Wrote About Masturbating In Public Toilets, Mocked Wounded US Soldier)
Racicot alleged that in 2021 Platner arrived at her home drunk after she told him not to come over, the outlet reported. She claimed she stopped contacting him and characterized his actions as “reckless” and “unsettling.”
Other women described a different version of Platner.
“He was a great boyfriend,” 36-year-old Caroline Lemp, who now resides in St. Louis, told the outlet. “He was super kind, very nice, fun.”
“I have a lot of ex-girlfriends,” Platner reportedly told voters at a Maine town hall in April. “They’re all still my friends.”
Platner is an oyster farmer and a retired veteran of the Marine Corps and the Army National Guard.
Editor’s note: This piece was updated with new information and corrected the spelling of Platner’s last name.