Graham Platner, the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, suspended his campaign on Wednesday following a rape allegation that prompted widespread calls from party leaders for him to step aside. The decision, announced in a social media video, came just two days after the allegation became public and five days before a deadline that would have prevented Democrats from replacing him on the general election ballot.
Platner, a populist Democrat and Marine Corps combat veteran who works as an oyster farmer, had secured the party's nomination in a landslide primary victory on June 9. He was challenging longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a race widely seen as crucial to determining control of the Senate in the November midterm elections. His campaign had been backed by progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and had gained momentum after two-term Gov. Janet Mills, the preferred candidate of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Democratic establishment, suspended her bid earlier this year due to lagging fundraising and polling.
The allegation that triggered Platner's exit came from Maine resident Jenny Racicot, 41, who told CNN and Politico that Platner forced her to have sex against her will five years ago. Racicot said Platner entered her home uninvited while intoxicated and forced her to have unprotected sex despite her telling him to stop multiple times. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice,’” she told Politico. The report also noted that a man Racicot dated afterward confirmed she had told him about the incident, and that emails between Racicot and her therapist corroborated her account.
Platner denied the allegations, calling them “troubling, serious, and false” in a statement to Politico. In his video announcing the suspension, he said, “This is all false. The things that have been claimed did not happen. It is not real.” He also suggested that the allegations were being used by the political establishment to undermine his anti-establishment campaign. “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.
A second allegation emerged on Tuesday, when The Washington Post reported that Platner's ex-girlfriend, Lyndsey Fifield, 41, accused him of removing condoms during sex after she explicitly directed him to wear them. Fifield had previously accused Platner of physical misconduct, including grabbing her hard enough to leave marks and twisting her arm behind her back. The Platner campaign dismissed these allegations as “categorically false and politically motivated,” pointing to Fifield's previous work for the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Platner's campaign had been plagued by controversies in recent months, including past inflammatory comments that surfaced during the primary race. Despite winning the nomination, he faced mounting pressure from Democrats in Maine and Washington to withdraw. His suspension of campaign operations leaves the party scrambling to find a replacement candidate before the deadline, with the race against Collins now in jeopardy.
The allegation and Platner's exit underscore the high stakes of the Maine Senate race, one of a handful of contests that will determine whether Republicans retain their slim Senate majority. Collins, a moderate Republican, has held the seat since 1997 and is seeking a fifth term. Democrats had viewed Platner as a flawed but potentially viable challenger, but his departure now forces the party to regroup and find a new standard-bearer in a state that has trended Democratic in recent presidential elections.
