On Wednesday (July 8), Graham Platner, the Democratic candidate for the United States Senate from Maine, suspended his campaign. It comes after a former girlfriend, Jenny Racicot, came forward alleging that Platner raped her in 2021. The report was published by POLITICO, followed by a CNN interview on Monday (July 6).
“We believe that for the movement to continue, it can’t be me,” Platner said in a video posted to his social media accounts. “And for that reason we are suspending campaign operations.”
The eleven-minute video carried a defiant tone from Platner. He denied the allegations of sexual assault levied against him within the past few weeks, and took shots against the Democratic Party’s establishment in the process. “We are not doing it because of the allegations,” Platner said. “We are doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power.”
Platner went on to ask that the will of those who voted for him be considered. “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,” he said. “It needs to be driven not from back rooms, but by the will of the people, and the decisions that come next must come from that.”
The move allows the state’s Democrats to choose a new candidate to run against the incumbent, Republican Senator Susan Collins. The Maine Democratic Party will hold a nominating convention, and choose a nominee by the state-mandated deadline of July 27.
Platner, 41, had risen to prominence due to his progressive platform and his background as a former Marine Corps veteran who spoke plainly about his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol. He was previously backed by Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, but they along with other backers called for Platner to drop his bid to run after the allegations.