Graham Platner ends Maine Senate bid after rape allegation
Graham Platner, a Democrat seeking his party’s nomination for a US Senate seat in Maine, ended his campaign on July 8 in a video posted to social media. His exit came after Politico reported an account from a former girlfriend who alleged that Platner forced her to have sex over her objections in 2021. Platner called the allegation “categorically untrue.”
Within hours of the report, most of Platner’s Democratic backing collapsed. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, called on him to leave the race, and the DSCC signaled it would not spend on the seat while he remained on the ballot. Without institutional money or party support, a general-election campaign was no longer viable.
The timing matters mechanically: under Maine law, Democrats need a candidate to withdraw by July 13 to nominate a replacement in time for the general election. Platner’s departure keeps that window open and reopens a contest Democrats are counting on as they try to expand the map.