Valli Geiger, a Maine state representative and longtime supporter of Graham Platner, offered a nuanced defense of the Democratic Senate candidate on Tuesday, declining to dismiss him while also acknowledging the credibility of the rape allegation against him.
“I will not throw Graham under the bus, but neither will I slander or accuse Ms. Racicot of anything more than telling the truth as she experienced it,” Geiger wrote in a social media post. “I acknowledge the pain on all sides and offer compassion on all sides.”
Geiger’s statement came one day after Jenny Racicot, who dated Platner from 2019 to 2021, accused him of raping her in 2021, an allegation Platner has denied. The accusation, first reported by Politico and CNN, has prompted numerous Democratic allies to withdraw endorsements and call for Platner to exit the race.
The Rockland representative has been among Platner’s closest political allies. She previously credited him with helping secure funding for rape kit tracking in Maine after two years of failed efforts in the state legislature. In 2024, Geiger’s bill to establish a statewide sexual assault forensic examination kit tracking system passed both chambers of the Maine legislature but was pocket-vetoed by Gov. Janet Mills. In 2025, two similar bills went unfunded.
Geiger, a former VA nurse, framed her defense of Platner in terms of military trauma and her professional experience with survivors. “As a former VA nurse, I granted and still grant him an enormous amount of grace for his behavior in the ‘dark years’ when he returned from multiple deployments,” she wrote. “He acknowledges what a dark time it was, how lost he was, how much he was drinking.”
Yet Geiger also validated Racicot’s account. “I also know that sexual assault victims often keep it a secret for years, usually don’t call the police and rarely go to the hospital,” she wrote. “We have made the system deeply inhospitable to women who are assaulted whether by husbands, strangers, boyfriends or relatives. Her story seems credible. None of us knows the truth nor will we ever. I think Graham is a man becoming a better man and working hard on it.”
Geiger expressed regret about the political moment. “But there are no winners here, something profoundly hopeful has been lost,” she wrote, referring to what she called Platner’s movement to remake America. She said she hoped he would lead that movement forward but acknowledged “it looks like that option is no longer possible.”
“I will thank him for lighting a match to kindle a movement to remake America,” Geiger wrote. “Now it is our job to ensure that the movement continues to burn brighter, fiercer and to do nothing less than save our country.”
Sources
- WMTW — Geiger’s full social media statement, her prior work on rape kit tracking, and background on the bill’s legislative history
- Politico — Jenny Racicot’s allegation against Platner and his denial
- CNN — Racicot’s account of the alleged 2021 assault
