Maine Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner withdrew from his race against Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on July 8, ending a campaign rocked by a sexual assault allegation and giving the Maine Democratic Party time to name a replacement before November’s election.
“This is incredibly difficult, because I know many will think of it as an admission of guilt,” he said. “It most certainly is not.”
The move came less than a week before the July 13 deadline for a candidate to withdraw and still be replaced on the ballot. Under Maine law, the state party then has until July 27 to name a new nominee.
He has denied the sexual assault allegation. “Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false,” he said.
Jenny Racicot, a 41-year-old Maine resident, told Politico in an article published July 6 that Platner entered her home uninvited while intoxicated in late 2021 and forced himself on her over her repeated objections. Racicot, who said she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for more than two years, told the outlet she cut off contact after the alleged incident and did not file a police report.
Calls for Platner to step aside came quickly. The Maine Democratic Party, in a statement signed by chair Charlie Dingman, vice chair Imke Schessler, and executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson, said it “stands with women and survivors, and that principle does not bend based on party affiliation.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, called the allegation “incredibly disturbing” and said the committee would not invest in the race if Platner remained on the ballot.
Senate Majority PAC, the main super PAC aligned with Senate Democrats, said it would also redirect resources away from the race. DNC chair Ken Martin—who had also previously endorsed Platner following the primary—also called for him to be replaced on Monday.
Several Democrats who had endorsed Platner rescinded their support, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).
“The best path forward is for Graham Platner to step aside as the Democratic nominee and address these serious allegations outside this Senate race,” Warren said in a statement. Gallego and Khanna announced their reversals in posts on X.
The state party has not announced a replacement. Platner’s main opponent in the primary, current Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, has not weighed in on the matter or her willingness to be the replacement nominee.
He has also faced scrutiny over sexually explicit messages sent to women during his marriage and a tattoo resembling a Nazi SS symbol that he said he had not understood and covered up in October 2025.
Platner won the June 9 primary with more than 70 percent of the vote over a field that included Mills, who suspended her campaign in April but remained on the ballot, and David Costello.
Democrats need to gain four seats to win Senate control, and they are counting Maine among their top targets. Collins, first elected in 1996, is seeking a sixth term. The general election is Nov. 3.