Platner quits Maine Senate race; Democrats set to pick new nominee

Democratic Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner said he intends to exit the race on Wednesday after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2021, causing an insurmountable rupture with his closest allies. 

Platner’s fall is a seismic shift in the 2026 midterm elections, as Democrats try to wrest control of Congress from Republicans and weaken President Donald Trump‘s grip on power. Flipping the Maine seat held by five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins is critical to those ambitions, and Democrats in the state must now field a new candidate with less than four months until Election Day.

Platner, an oysterman and military veteran, said in Wednesday that he is “suspending campaign operations” after his support dried up and national fundraisers threatened to direct money away from his campaign.  

“We believe that for the movement to continue, it can’t be me,” Platner said. “I intend to file my paperwork to withdraw. The process needs to assure that what comes next is reflective of the Mainers who, on June 9, turned out and showed that they are desperate for a different kind of politics.”

In a direct-to-camera video, Platner said that his decision to withdraw “most certainly is not” an admission of guilt, but a reflection of the reality he now faces. He has denied claims made by his Jenny Racicot, who dated Platner and told Politico he forced himself on her in 2021 while heavily intoxicated.

“We did it the right way, we built a campaign, we engaged in electoral politics, we motivated people, we banded together,” he said. “We did it the way we are told we are supposed to make change, and we won, and now they are not going to let us have it. Not if it’s me.”

His fall from grace is a tremendous swing-and-miss by Democrats, who once hoped the gruff, progressive Mainer could help the party reconnect with disaffected blue-collar voters who gravitated toward Trump. And his campaign’s implosion now puts Democrats’ hopes for Senate control in jeopardy by pushing a must-win state into harder-to-reach territory.

Members of the Maine Democratic Party voted Wednesday night to hold a nominating convention to select a replacement for Platner. The party said it will provide more information on the convention in the coming days. Maine law stipulates that the party can replace him on the ballot by July 27. 

Multiple candidates have already hopped into the race to replace him, though the process for nominating a new candidate remains largely unclear. 

Dan Kleban, the founder of Maine Beer Company who ran for the seat in the Democratic primary earlier this year, said on Wednesday he will try again for the nomination. 

“We’re all sick and tired of a system that’s been rigged by corporate interests, and we’ve had enough…