Embattled Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner announced Wednesday in a video statement that he is ending his campaign, allowing state Democrats to select a replacement candidate to challenge six-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a marquee November midterm contest.
Platner's departure comes after a 41-year-old Maine resident publicly alleged in reports by CNN and Politico that Platner sexually assaulted her nearly five years ago. Platner has repeatedly denied the claim.
“We believe that for the movement to continue it can’t be me - and for that reason we are suspending campaign operations," Platner said in a video posted on X, adding that he intends to file paperwork to withdraw.
“This is incredibly difficult because I know that some will think that it’s an admission of guilt and it most certainly is not. 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," Platner added.
Platner faced a state-mandated July 13 deadline to withdraw from the general election ballot. Following his official departure, the Maine Democratic Party has a two-week window to select a replacement nominee.
Support for Platner among key Democratic figures disintegrated rapidly earlier in the week after the allegations went public.
In a video statement published Monday, Platner characterized the allegations as “troubling, serious and false" while acknowledging the severe political impact of the story.
Following the initial reports, a wave of high-profile supporters - including independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont - withdrew their backing and urged Platner to leave the race.
The exit follows months of intense public scrutiny surrounding the political newcomer. Platner’s platform was marked by a polarizing, hardline anti-Israel stance; he frequently blasted American foreign aid to Israel, referred to military operations in Gaza as genocide, and faced intense backlash from Jewish Democratic groups after characterizing campaign contributions channeled through the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC in ways critics labeled antisemitic.
More recently, he accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of war crimes.
Beyond his virulent anti-Israel platform, Platner has come under fire following the revelation that he spent nearly two decades with a Nazi Totenkopf symbol tattooed on his chest.
Platner addressed the fascist imagery last October, admitting to having the tattoo for roughly 20 years. He rejected any personal alignment with Nazi ideology, asserting that he received the body art while "inebriated" as a young adult and without understanding its historical context. At the time, he did not explain why the symbol remained on his body for so long.
He subsequently altered the marking, stating that he ultimately decided to overlay the Nazi symbol with an entirely new design. Platner defended the decision by claiming that while his initial goal was total surgical removal, he opted for a cover-up design due to a scarcity of advanced tattoo removal Platner, an oyster farmer and Marine Corps veteran, became the presumptive nominee in April after two-term Democratic Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the primary race. However, lingering concerns over his viability led independent groups to continue polling other potential Democrats against Collins.
Potential contenders to take over the Democratic nomination include three former primary candidates for governor: Nirav Shah, former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Secretary of State Shenna Bellows; and former state Sen. Troy Jackson, a logger backed by Sanders. Dan Kleban, a brewery owner who previously bowed out of the Senate race to back Mills, formally launched his candidacy on Wednesday.