JULY 9, 2026
Graham Platner suspends Maine Senate campaign following rape allegation, setting off Democratic scramble for replacement
Democrat Graham Platner suspended his Maine U.S. Senate campaign on Wednesday evening in a video posted to social media, two days after Politico reported that a woman he had dated, Jenny Racicot, alleged he forced her to have sex with him in late 2021; Platner denied the allegation. His exit came five days before a July 13 state-law deadline by which a candidate must withdraw in order to allow the party to place a replacement nominee on the general election ballot, with the Maine Democratic Party required to name a successor by July 27.
Platner, a Marine veteran and oyster farmer who won Maine's Democratic Senate primary on June 9 with roughly 72 percent of the vote, had been running against Republican Sen. Susan Collins — a race Democrats have described as central to their bid to retake the Senate majority. He lost financial backing and endorsements rapidly after Politico published the allegation on July 6. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and DSCC Chair Kirsten Gillibrand announced that the DSCC would not invest in the race if Platner remained on the ballot; the Senate Majority PAC also said it was redirecting resources away from Maine. Prominent endorsers including Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Ro Khanna, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren withdrew their support.
In an 11-minute video posted at 8:10 p.m. Wednesday, Platner said his decision was "not an admission of guilt" and attributed it instead to the loss of campaign infrastructure. "Those in power who have the ability to do so are using these allegations as an excuse to take away all the things that we need to run a campaign," he said. He denied the allegations as "troubling, serious, and false" and called for any replacement process to be "open, transparent, and democratic" with decisions made by Maine voters rather than "people in places of political power." A spokesperson for Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows noted Wednesday night that Platner had not yet filed formal withdrawal paperwork, though he stated his intent to do so.
Maine Democrats moved quickly to organize a nominating convention. The Maine Democratic Party announced it would hold a convention of roughly 600 delegates — 500 selected by county-level committees and 100 current state committee members — to select a new nominee. Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson said the framework was being developed by Maine Democrats alone, without DSCC involvement, and that candidates would be required to collect voter signatures to qualify. The party and the Platner campaign had publicly feuded over the process; campaign manager Ben Chin accused the party of working with national counterparts "behind closed doors," a charge the DSCC called "false." Several candidates moved quickly to enter the race, including Maine Beer Company founder Dan Kleban and progressive former state Senate President Troy Jackson, who had been endorsed by Sanders in his earlier gubernatorial bid.