Platner suspends Maine Senate campaign in aftermath of sexual assault allegation

Democratic Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner announced Wednesday that he has suspended his campaign amid pressure from Democrats and after a woman he previously dated alleged he sexually assaulted her in 2021.

Platner announced the decision in an 11-minute video where he denied the allegations but emphasized that he could not continue the campaign amid pressure from his party.

"I have faced some very serious allegations, and I just want to make it clear, this is all false," he said in the video. "The things that have been claimed did not happen. It's not real."

The Democrat claimed he learned about the allegations through press inquires and claimed that the allegations were coming out now because it was the last week he could withdraw from the race.

"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," he said in the video. "Accusations are supposed to be the beginning of things, not the end. This was the last week to try to get me off of the ballot, and that's why this is occurring."

The scandal comes after 41-year-old Jenny Racicot detailed the alleged conduct to Politico in an article published Monday. Racicot alleges that she maintained an intermittent relationship with Platner and that he arrived at her home one evening in 2021 intoxicated, where he allegedly forced her to have sex with him.

Platner's campaign has also been challenged by reports of toxic behavior toward other women he dated and a history of sexually explicit texts sent to women early in his marriage.

The Democrat's exit from the race comes just days before the state's deadline to withdraw from the election. The Maine Democratic Party now has until July 27 to choose his replacement, according to CBS News.

The new nominee will face Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in November.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.