Embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner has formally filed paperwork to end his campaign, withdrawing from the race in the wake of sexual assault allegations.
Platner exited after Jenny Racicot made the allegation on Monday, even as he continued to reject the claims described in a Politico report.
On Wednesday, he released an 11-minute video on social media in which he again denied the accusation but said “the immense amount of weight” he was carrying had made it impossible for him to continue the campaign.
In a letter to the secretary of state’s office, also shared on his social media accounts, Platner said the Maine voters who put him on the ballot had chosen “a new kind of politics” — one he described as reflecting “people down here in the real world,” rather than “billionaires, oligarchs, or the political establishment.”
That anti-establishment message had been central to Platner’s turbulent campaign, which attracted support from prominent progressives such as Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna.
“I seek to further the movement we have built together and the future we believe in,” he added, without offering specifics about what that next phase would involve.
The withdrawal letter struck a tone closer to a political manifesto, closing with a profanity aimed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a statement of support for Palestine, and a nod to Maine’s local lower-division soccer club.
“F*** ICE. Free Palestine. Up the Hearts. Solidarity forever,” Platner wrote.
Racicot, 41, told the outlet she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for more than two years before the night when he showed up to her rural Maine home uninvited in 2021.
Disgraced Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner has officially submitted his letter of withdrawal, dropping out of his race following sexual assault allegations
Racicot, as well as fellow Platner ex Lindsey Fifield, sat down with CNN to discuss their alleged experiences with him as a partner as well.
She told Politico that she and Platner exchanged messages the night of the attack and she told him not to come over, but later that evening, she heard him letting himself into her unlocked house.
Platner came upstairs to where she was sitting on the couch and appeared to be ‘blackout drunk’ when he ignored her protests and started ‘grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me.’
‘I had been telling him these words, like: ‘No, don’t,” she told Politico. ‘And, the look on his face and realizing what was happening, I just realized that, like, I am in a situation where there’s no consent here.’
Racicot claimed that she tried to get away from Platner by going to her bedroom, but he followed her inside and had sex with her against her will. She said he ejaculated inside her despite her asking him not to because she was not on birth control.
The alleged victim said that she went to the bathroom to clean herself up, and when she returned, Platner was already asleep. The following morning, she confronted him about the encounter, but Platner said he couldn’t remember. She asked him to leave and never contact her again.
Platner, 41, said in a video statement on Monday: ‘I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me. Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false.’
‘Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins,’ he added.
‘Those were the goals when I launched this campaign, and they remain my goals today.’
The married Iraq war veteran faced an immediate wave of left wing backlash, including from top Democratic lawmakers who pulled their support.
Maine is considered a key state for control of the narrowly divided Senate, and Democrats were desperate for a candidate capable of defeating Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
The formal withdrawal comes two days after Platner said he would quit the race, facing an allegation of sexual assault that he has denied.
Maine Democrats are seeking a new nominee, and several hopefuls have already begun jockeying for position.
State law includes a provision for Democrats to replace Platner before the general election but the replacement must by named by July 27.
Just before Platner’s Wednesday announcement, more than 100 state Democratic Party committee members signed off on holding a nominating convention, in the event of his withdrawal, to choose the nominee.
The state party has not publicly released details of when the convention will be held.
Several Democrats have announced runs for the Senate nomination this week.
They include three candidates who lost the June primary for the governor nomination — former Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director Nirav Shah, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson.
This is a developing story.
