Embattled Democrat Graham Platner has officially withdrawn from the Maine Senate race, formally ceding the field as Democrats scramble to replace him before the looming November election.
The 41-year-old oyster farmer and veteran announced his decision in a letter sent to Maine’s Secretary of State’s Office and posted on X on Friday, just four days after a bombshell sex assault allegation.
Democrats now face a speedy July 27 deadline to submit a replacement nominee to face off against Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
“I write to formally withdraw my candidacy for United States Senate,” wrote Platner.
He pointed out that 156,000 Mainers voted for him in search of “a new kind of politics.”
They ”voted for time and dignity; for strong unions and jobs they can raise families on; for the hope of buying a home; for the chance to retire with grace,” Platner noted. “My name may have been on the ballot, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine.”
People are “desperate for change,” he added. “Over the past 11 months, thousands and thousands of Mainers poured their hearts, time, and talent into a movement to deliver that vision. I will be forever grateful to them.”
He ended with a defiant message: “F--- ICE. Free Palestine. Up the Hearts. Solidarity forever.”
Platner’s Senate hopes were dashed earlier this week when a former girlfriend, Jenny Racicot, accused him of forcing her to have sex with him in 2021. He blasted the claim as “categorically false,” but suspended his campaign on Wednesday as he considered the final step.
“I learned about this through press inquiries with no time to truly respond, no time for investigations before a corporate media system and the political establishment got to act as judge, jury, and executioner,” Platner said in a video posted to X.
“What comes next needs to come from the people, needs to come from the people of Maine,” he added. “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.”
The latest accusation followed revelations that Platner had sexted several women during the early years of his marriage in 2023.
Platner’s wife, Amy Gertler, stood by him and said the couple had worked through the issue in therapy, while also addressing his struggles with his “violent” past in the military. The Marine Corps veteran and ex-Army infantryman served four tours overseas—three in Iraq as a Marine and one in Afghanistan as part of the Maryland Army National Guard.
Platner won the Maine Senate primary in early June with overwhelming support. But many of those who had stood by him in the past, including Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ro Khanna, withdrew their backing after the latest accusation.
President Donald Trump, 80, oddly appeared to defend the former Democratic candidate, telling reporters on Air Force One Wednesday: “It’s really a question of whether or not you believe the woman. A lot of people say big falsehoods. He’s in a bind, he’s in a bind.”
