Graham C. Platner, the populist political newcomer who won Maine’s Democratic U.S. Senate nomination last month, announced on Wednesday night that he is suspending his campaign following public allegations of sexual assault.
Platner, a 41-year-old Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer, revealed the decision in an 11-minute video broadcast on social media.
He forcefully denied the accusations as “categorically false,” and stated that he was halting operations because the national party leadership and institutional donors had cut off the infrastructure necessary to continue.
He emphasized that the suspension was not an admission of guilt but a decision of structural pressure from the political establishment.
The campaign’s collapse followed a Monday report by Politico detailing an account from Jenny Racicot, a 41-year-old Maine resident who dated Platner on and off for two years.
READ: Mamdani, Ro Khanna call on Graham Platner to exit Maine Senate race after sexual assault allegations (July 7, 2026)
Racicot alleged that in late 2021, an intoxicated Platner entered her home uninvited and forced her to have nonconsensual sex. On Tuesday, The Washington Post published an interview with another former girlfriend, Lyndsey Fifield, who also accused Platner of behaving without consent.
The disclosures prompted a swift and widespread withdrawal of support from Platner’s high-profile allies.
Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, whose early backings anchored Platner’s progressive coalition, rescinded their endorsements and called on him to step aside.
Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who had previously campaigned alongside Platner, similarly withdrew his support, stating that violence against women is an absolute red line.
Platner’s insurgent campaign had previously bypassed the traditional Democratic apparatus by channeling working-class frustration, built on an anti-establishment message that allowed him to secure 72% of the vote in the June primary after forcing Maine Gov. Janet Mills to exit the race in April.
Throughout his candidacy, Platner had managed to maintain loyal voter support despite earlier disclosures.
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These prior controversies didn’t stop at the assault allegations, years-old dismissive online remarks regarding sexual assault victims on reddit was dug up along with explicit text messages sent outside his marriage, and a Nazi-era Totenkopf chest tattoo that he claims he got it done drunk that subsequently altered.
Platner’s exit leaves the Democratic Party on a compressed timeline to field a new challenger against Republican Sen. Susan Collins, a five-term incumbent who has held the seat since 1997.
Under Maine election statute, Platner must officially submit his withdrawal paperwork by 5:00 PM on July 13 to formally vacate the ballot line.
Following a formal withdrawal, the Maine Democratic Party faces a strict July 27 statutory deadline to convene and officially select a replacement nominee for the general election.
While Platner did not endorse a successor, he publicly insisted that the selection process remain open to state residents rather than decided by national party brokers in Washington.
The Maine Democratic Party announced that it will select a new nominee at a convention held sometime in the next two weeks.