Graham Platner suspended his Maine Senate campaign on Wednesday and said he intends to file paperwork to withdraw after a published report said a woman he once dated accused him of sexual assault; by early Tuesday afternoon, 32 of the Senate's 47 Democratic senators had called on him to withdraw.
Platner said in a video posted to social media that "we believe that for the movement to continue, it can't be me. And for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations." He added that stepping aside was "incredibly difficult" and said the decision was "not an admission of guilt." He said he intends to file paperwork to withdraw, did not immediately endorse another candidate and said the replacement process must be "open" and controlled by the "people of Maine."
Top Democrats and party groups had publicly turned against Platner in the days before his announcement. Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand issued a joint statement calling on him to withdraw, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said it "will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot," and DNC Chair Ken Martin said it was "time for him to end his campaign." Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Martin Heinrich and Rep. Ro Khanna withdrew support, and Sens. Mark Kelly, Elissa Slotkin, Cory Booker and Adam Schiff joined calls for him to step aside; Sen. Ruben Gallego withdrew his endorsement, Sen. Ed Markey said he "cannot support his candidacy," and Sen. Bernie Sanders said he had recommended that Platner step aside.
Platner had denied the allegation before suspending his campaign, calling the claim "categorically false" in a video his campaign posted and saying the accusations were "coached and coordinated by out of state establishment operatives." His campaign canceled a string of events, took down online ads and put holds on ads on Facebook and Instagram while saying it was "mindful of the political reality" and was "taking the time to reflect on the best path forward." Allies said he had sought to leverage his status as the Democratic nominee to influence who might replace him; a person familiar with campaign deliberations said Platner told his team he had built a movement and did not want his successor to be a "corporate" Democrat. The campaign denied it was trying to exert influence over the replacement process and did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The woman who publicly accused Platner, Jenny Racicot, 41, said he entered her home uninvited in 2021 and forced himself on her. Racicot said she and Platner met on a dating app in 2019 and had consensual relations before the late-2021 incident, which she has described as rape; she said the encounter happened five years ago while Platner was heavily intoxicated and that he "violated multiple layers of consent that night." Racicot also said Platner removed condoms without her consent during sexual encounters, and another woman has come forward with a similar allegation about condoms being removed without consent.
Maine Democratic Party leadership released a joint statement calling on Platner to withdraw, and state Democrats discussed potential replacements including former gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former public health official Nirav Shah. Maine Democratic nominee for governor Hannah Pingree called for Platner to exit and said the energy behind his campaign "needs a new candidate to carry it forward."
The state committee voted Wednesday evening at the end of a lengthy emergency meeting to tentatively approve plans for a nominating convention to pick a replacement if Platner drops out. The convention plan would include roughly 600 people, with every county-level Democratic committee meeting beforehand to elect 500 of those delegates and the 100 current state committee members also serving as delegates; the party confirmed the plan on social media and in a press release but said it would announce specifics "soon."
Additional names have circulated as possible replacements, including Jordan Wood and state lawmaker Joe Baldacci; Baldacci blasted Platner for attempting to influence the selection of his replacement and said Platner should have no say in who succeeds him. Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, called the allegation "deeply disappointing for all of the grassroots supporters" and said leaders must be "fully transparent" about vetting; he said former gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson was best placed to replace Platner.
Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson released a video saying the party is developing an "open, inclusive, transparent and fair" process but will not disclose details until Platner formally withdraws, and she said Platner's team has repeatedly been told it has no role in determining the party's next nominee for the U.S. Senate.
Under Maine law a nominee can be replaced if a candidate withdraws "on or before 5 p.m. of the 2nd Monday in July preceding the general election." That means a withdrawal would have to come before July 13 at 5 p.m. for the party to replace him for the general election; the party would have until July 27 to nominate a replacement. If a candidate withdraws after the July 13 deadline, the party does not have any way to nominate a replacement.
Key outside groups rescinded endorsements, including VoteVets and End Citizens United, and Senate Majority PAC said it is "redirecting resources away from the Maine Senate race in light of the latest allegations." Pine Tree Results, the super PAC backing Sen. Susan Collins, pulled its anti-Platner ads after raising $10.5 million during the first half of the year and has $8 million in cash on hand to target a likely fresh Democratic nominee; one major donor to the pro-Collins super PAC, Blackstone president Jon Gray, contributed $250,000 well before reports of the sexual assault allegation emerged. Republicans are preparing an $8 million negative advertising effort aimed at introducing a potential Democratic replacement to Maine voters.
The Platner campaign quietly commissioned a flash poll conducted by Public Policy Polling that surveyed 785 Maine voters and tested head-to-head matchups between Collins and Platner as well as five possible Democratic replacements. The poll showed Platner trailing Collins 47 percent to 42 percent, with 11 percent undecided, and showed Jackson leading Collins 49 percent to 44 percent, with 7 percent undecided; the survey document did not list a margin of error and was conducted over a 24-hour period. Crosstabs showed Platner performed best among voters who did not vote in 2024 or voted for someone other than President Donald Trump or former Vice President Kamala Harris, with 40 percent supporting Platner and 38 percent supporting Jackson.
Platner first announced his outsider campaign in August 2025 and went on to win the largely uncontested June 9 Democratic primary with 72 percent of the vote.
His rise had been marked by a string of controversies, including a tattoo that drew criticism and deleted Reddit posts that surfaced during the campaign, and reports that he had sent women sexually explicit messages while married.
Other potential Democratic options cited by party operatives and advisers include former public health official Nirav Shah, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, state Rep. Valli Geiger and brewery owner Dan Kleban. It was unclear if Gov. Janet Mills might be open to rejoining the race. Shah said he was "evaluating" whether to run and that anyone running for the nomination should agree to at least one televised debate and hold multiple public town halls.
As the controversy unfolded, more than a dozen Democratic senators had not yet publicly commented on Platner as of early Tuesday afternoon; the office of Maine Sen. Angus King said he would not be commenting, citing a longstanding policy not to comment on races involving his colleagues. A person familiar with the campaign's internal discussions said adviser Morris Katz planned to meet with Platner in Maine to press the case for suspending the campaign; Katz responded on X that "no one in campaign deliberations or familiar with my thinking is talking to" a particular news outlet.
Insiders described Platner's farewell video as defiant rather than conciliatory: the oysterman released an 11-minute social media message shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday in which he continued to deny the allegations, blasted the "corporate media system and the political establishment" and accused "those in power" of preferring Susan Collins over his candidacy. Several of Platner's closest advisers had urged a softer tone, according to people close to the campaign, and the video was recorded more than four hours before it was posted; Platner's team waited to publish it while arranging an all-staff call timed with the release. On that call, he expressed "a deep sense of gratitude" to his team and reiterated a desire for a transparent process to select his replacement.
The state party's governing committee convened on Zoom Wednesday evening and by a bit after 7 p.m. had sketched a framework for a party convention to replace Platner "if there is a vacancy to fill." Less than an hour later, Platner suspended his campaign, giving the committee the opening to move forward with the planned process.
Democrats quickly began filing or publicly preparing campaigns to succeed Platner. Nirav Shah, the former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention who recently lost in the Democratic primary for governor, officially threw his name into the race on Thursday morning, posting to social media that "establishment politicians have failed us" and that "to defeat Susan Collins, we need an outsider who is not afraid to take on the broken system she has spent decades upholding." Shah had been publicly pressing for debates and an open process earlier in the week and is described by supporters as having high name ID from leading Maine through the Covid-19 pandemic.
By the time Platner dropped out, former gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson had already filed paperwork to run, and Maine Beer Company founder Dan Kleban officially entered the contest. Unsuccessful House candidates Paige Loud and Jordan Wood, as well as state Rep. Valli Geiger, are also weighing runs.
Minutes after Platner's departure, Democratic-aligned groups moved to refocus on the race: the Senate Democrats' campaign arm launched a fund to raise money for the party's new nominee, and Senate Majority PAC, which had earlier said it was redirecting resources away from the race, said it was now "committed" to defeating Collins.