Graham Platner Ends Senate Bid Following Slew of Sexual Assault Allegations

Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for U.S. senator in Maine, formally suspended his campaign on Wednesday night after he lost support from virtually every Democrat who had once backed him, following a series of rape and sexual abuse allegations against him.

Platner announced his decision in a video on social media.

“We believe that for the movement to continue it can’t be me — and for that reason we are suspending campaign operations,” Platner said.

The former Senate nominee struck a divisive tone in the video, refusing to take responsibility for what he called “false allegations” against him and instead blaming the Democratic Party for his having to leave the race.

The allegations “are being used by the political establishment to put structural pressure on us,” Platner claimed. “We live in a political system that is not built for normal people.”

Platner’s campaign advisers reportedly asked him to strike a more conciliatory tone. Platner clearly rejected that advice.

Platner, a former Marine and current oyster farmer in the state, launched his campaign for U.S. Senate in August 2025, aiming to unseat longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins. His campaign focused on opposing oligarchy, tying Collins to billionaires and policies that empower them. The Democratic candidate also campaigned on issues like universal health care and workers’ rights, drawing the support of progressive voices like Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders. Platner ended up winning his primary election in early June.

But Platner, who also once worked as a security contractor for Blackwater with the State Department in 2018, saw several controversies from his past creep forward during the past year. Among them was scrutiny over his tattoo of a Totenkopf, a symbol used by Nazi Germany. Platner claimed that he wasn’t aware of the symbol’s meaning when he had the tattoo done decades ago, and that he had since had it covered up.

Platner’s past social media posts, including commentaries disparaging Black people and LGBTQ people, also sparked controversy. Platner blamed these and other actions on PTSD from his time in the military and his struggles with alcoholism.

Disturbingly, past Reddit posts in which he victim-blamed survivors of sexual assault were also discovered. In the now-deleted posts, Platner said that those victims should “just take some responsibility for themselves” and “act like an adult for fucks sake.”

It was his own alleged history with sexual assault that became his undoing. Several articles during the campaign detailed Platner’s violent tendencies in past relationships — allegations his campaign claimed were conjured up by Republican exes. But this week a woman who dated Platner just five years ago alleged that he forced her to have sex with him.

According to Maine resident Jenny Racicot, who had an on-again, off-again relationship with Platner around 2021, he came to her house one night deeply intoxicated, refusing to listen to her text messages telling him not to come. Platner allegedly grabbed her by the pelvis and was “really forceful.” He raped her that evening, Racicot recounted.

“I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice,’” Racicot told Politico, which reported the story on Monday. She indicated that she didn’t come forward with details about the assault earlier because she didn’t want to be known as a rape victim. But because another victim came forward — and that person’s account was discounted for political reasons — Racicot said she felt compelled to do so as well.

“One of the reasons I didn’t come forward sooner was, the huge moral conflict that I had between supporting his politics, but not supporting him as a person,” she said.

Platner flatly rejected the allegations, calling them “troubling, serious, and false.” But days later, a former girlfriend of Platner’s also came forward with allegations, accusing him of removing condoms in the middle of intercourse without her consent.

In response to the allegations, numerous people and organizations dropped their previous support for Platner, calling for him to drop out of the race entirely so that a new person could run. Among those who retracted their support were Sanders, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California), and others.

“Graham Platner needs to immediately withdraw as the Democratic nominee for Senate and allow Maine Democrats the opportunity to choose a new candidate who can defeat Susan Collins,” read a joint statement from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York), chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York).

“This Senate race comes at a pivotal moment in the struggle against a government, supported by Senator Collins, that serves the interests of the wealthy and powerful at the expense of ordinary Maine people. It is essential that we refocus this campaign on that struggle,” a statement from leaders of the Maine Democratic Party read.

The party announced that it will hold a nominating convention to select a new candidate to replace Platner. The main frontrunner for that nomination appears to be former state senator Troy Jackson, who last year made an unsuccessful run for governor, and who has already gained the endorsement of the Sanders-founded group, Our Revolution. Other notable contenders for the nomination are Maine Beer Company owner Dan Kleban, who ran in the Democratic primary against Platner before dropping out early, and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.