Graham Platner suspended his campaign for the U.S. Senate race in Maine on Wednesday after a rape allegation against him and the loss of key endorsements.
The embattled senate hopeful made his exit from the race formal with a message on X, maintaining his innocence and that the allegations are false. Platner has not officially withdrawn but “intends to file his paperwork” before the deadline on Monday, July 13.
“I know that some will think this is an admission of guilt, and it most certainly is not,” he said in the video. “We’re not doing it because of the allegations. We’re doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power.”
My name might be on the ballot right now, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine. pic.twitter.com/RKVyLU76tm
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 9, 2026
The senate candidate said in the video that he is a “regular person” and never planned to get into politics. He claimed that there were larger forces at play, accusing him of doing “the worst thing a person could,” that led to his pending withdrawal.
Platner also claimed that he learned of the sexual assault accusation from press inquiries with no time to properly respond before the court of public opinion made a decision about him.
“A political establishment got to act as judge, jury and executioner,” he said.
Platner’s decision comes after his ex Jenny Racicot accused the rising Democrat of sexual assault in a Monday report from Politico. She reiterated her allegations in a sit down interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, where she denied that her allegations were politically motivated, saying she only wanted “to let people know who they are voting for.”
“I think there are a lot of men in this world relying on the silence of women to be where they are. And I don’t want to contribute to that,” Racicot said at the time. “I also want to just get my life back.”
She added: “I’m just here to tell my story to give a clearer picture of who he is and the type of past he has. I just think it’s fair to the democratic process to let people know who they are voting for.”
In the wake of Racicot’s allegations, Platner formally denied the claims as “troubling, serious and false.” He also hinted that he was considering exiting the race ahead of the July 13 deadline, as he noted that he was “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love.”
The July assault allegations followed an already controversial campaign for the political rival for incumbent Senator Susan Collins. Namely, Platner faced several controversies this spring, including allegations of extramarital sexting, a Nazi tattoo, physical misconduct and offensive remarks.
Yet, the Politico report appeared to be the breaking point for Platner’s biggest supporters, as Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Senator Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), the “Pod Save America” hosts and more all called for him to exit the senate race this week.
Platner blamed the Democratic machine for forcing him to suspend campaign operations in his 11-minute exit video but encouraged his supporters to keep the faith.
“All we were asking for was for healthcare, was to end the genocide, to use our taxpayer dollars at home to uplift communities, instead of waging war overseas,” Platner concluded. “We were asking for a fair system. We were asking for an end to the corruption, the end to the money in politics. We were asking for real democracy, and we did it the right way, and we won, but now the ball is in the court of the Democratic establishment.”
“Thank all of you. and keep fighting, we’re going to win someday,” he concluded.
The post Graham Platner Suspends Senate Campaign After Rape Allegation appeared first on TheWrap.
