Graham Platner drops out of Maine’s US Senate race, suspending his Democratic campaign following a wave of scandals that culminated in a woman’s accusation of sexual assault against him. The move comes after mounting pressure from senior Democrats who viewed his candidacy as central to the party’s hopes of retaking control of the Senate.
In an 11-minute video posted to X, Platner insisted his decision was not an admission of wrongdoing but a response to threats from party leaders to cut off financial and organizational support for his campaign. He flatly denied the assault allegation, calling it “false.”
Platner said he would hold off on formally filing his withdrawal paperwork until he could be certain his replacement would be chosen through a fair process. “We’re suspending campaign operations,” he said, adding that he wanted the selection of a new nominee to be “open and democratic moving forward.”
He was careful to say he wasn’t attempting to influence who takes his place. “I’m not trying to dictate to anyone who it should be or how we get there,” Platner said. “But I will say this: it needs to be open, transparent, and democratic. It needs to be reflecting the will and the values of the people that built this movement.”
Under Maine law, Platner must officially withdraw by 13 July for a new name to appear on the ballot. The race is widely seen as pivotal to Democrats’ narrow path to a Senate majority, since the party would need to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins while defending every other seat it currently holds and flipping three more nationwide.
Just weeks earlier, Platner’s rise looked unstoppable. An oyster farmer and military veteran with no prior political experience, he built a campaign around economic populism, universal health care, and affordable housing, drawing support from progressive icons Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. His momentum was strong enough to push Maine Governor Janet Mills out of the primary race entirely.
That trajectory reversed almost overnight. After Politico published the assault allegation on Monday, Warren and other top Democrats quickly called for Platner’s exit, while Representative Ro Khanna and Senators Ruben Gallego and Martin Heinrich pulled their endorsements. Both the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Maine Democratic Party withdrew their backing soon after.
The accusation came from Jenny Racicot, 41, who said that following an on-and-off relationship with Platner spanning more than two years, he entered her Maine home uninvited while appearing heavily intoxicated and sexually assaulted her. Racicot said she severed contact with him after telling him the encounter was nonconsensual.
The allegation followed a string of earlier controversies. Last October, reports surfaced that Platner had a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, which he said he got in Croatia in 2007 while drinking with fellow Marines and later covered up. Old Reddit posts also emerged in which he suggested sexual assault victims should “take some responsibility” for their own intoxication, prompting him to publicly apologize.
In June, the New York Times reported that Platner had exchanged sexual messages with other women while married, something he acknowledged was accurate, and later detailed accounts from three former girlfriends describing erratic and angry behavior. Platner said the press exposure left him no chance to respond before facing what he called judgment from “a corporate media system and the political establishment.”
He is now the second major Democratic candidate this year to abandon a campaign over sexual misconduct claims, following California gubernatorial candidate and former Congressman Eric Swalwell, who resigned from the House and dropped his bid in April after several women accused him of misconduct, allegations he denied.
The Maine Democratic Party says it will choose a new nominee at a convention within the next two weeks, with hundreds of delegates expected to take part. “There is an unprecedented amount of energy and enthusiasm among Maine Democrats,” the party said in a statement, adding it looks forward to “harnessing that energy around our new nominee as we work to defeat Susan Collins in November.”
Party Executive Director Devon-Murphy Anderson pushed back on any suggestion that Platner’s team could shape the process, saying his campaign has “no role in determining our next Democratic nominee.” Meanwhile, several Maine politicians, including economist Nirav Shah, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, and Maine Beer Company founder Dan Kleban, have signaled interest in the seat, while actor Patrick Dempsey publicly ruled out a run.
