Graham Platner, Democratic US Senate candidate in Maine, during a primary election night event at the Blue Hill YMCA in Blue Hill, Maine, US, Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
Graeme Sloan | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner said he intends to drop out of the race Wednesday after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2021, causing a lasting rift with those close to him.
Platner’s downfall is a turning point in the 2026 midterm elections, as Democrats try to wrest Congress from Republicans and weaken President Donald Trump’s grip on power. Flipping the Maine seat held by five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins is critical to those aspirations, and Democrats in the state must field a new candidate with less than four months until Election Day.
Platner, an oysterman and military veteran, said Wednesday he is “campaigning on hiatus” after his endorsements ended and fundraisers threatened to pull money from his campaign.
“We believe that for the movement to continue, it will not be me,” said Platner. “I am determined to submit my papers to withdraw. The program must ensure that the following will show the Mainers who, on June 9, went public and showed that they want a different kind of politics.”
In a direct-to-camera video, Platner said his decision to withdraw was “definitely not” an admission of guilt, but a reflection of the reality he now faces. He denied claims made by Jenny Racicot, who had an affair with Platner and told Politico that he forced himself on her in 2021 while drunk.
“We did the right thing, we created a campaign, we entered into electoral politics, we mobilized people, we united,” he said. “We did it the way we were told we should make a change, we won, now they won’t let us have it. Not if it’s me.”
His fall from grace is a big throw-and-miss for Democrats, who once hoped the brash, progressive Mainer could help the party reconnect with disaffected blue-collar voters who are turning to Trump. And his campaign’s entry now puts Democrats’ hopes of controlling the Senate in jeopardy by pushing a must-win state into a hard-to-reach area.
Members of the Maine Democratic Party voted Wednesday night to hold a nominating convention to replace Platner. The group said it would provide more information about the conference in the coming days. Maine law stipulates that the party can replace him in the election on July 27.
Many people were running for the election to fill his place, although the process of appointing a candidate remains unclear.
Dan Kleban, the founder of the Maine Beer Company who ran for the Democratic Primary seat earlier this year, said Wednesday that he will seek re-election.
“We’re all sick and tired of a system that’s been hijacked by corporate interests, and we’ve had enough of the meddling of Washington insiders and New York City advisers trying to dictate who we stand for,” Kleban said. “I am ready to fight for Mainers and bring a new generation of leadership to Washington.”
Maine’s Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows, who recently lost the gubernatorial primary, said she would also consider entering the race. Bellows ran against Collins in 2014 and was beaten by more than 30 percentage points, but the ground is heavily in the Democrat’s favor this cycle.
Nirav Shah, a public health official and runner-up for governor, has also expressed interest in entering the ring.
And Troy Jackson, a former Maine Senate leader from rural Aroostook County who was close to Platner until the recent allegations, has already made a bid to see if he can replace him at the top of the ticket.
Jackson released polls Wednesday showing him leading Collins, and he easily fits the mold Platner created when he ran for office.
