Graham Platner Steps Back From Maine Senate Race After Sexual Assault Allegation

Graham Platner stepped back as the Democratic nominee for Maine’s U.S. Senate race after a sexual assault allegation, leaving Democrats scrambling to replace him to take on Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) this fall.

“Washington — Democrats are facing a rapidly closing window to replace Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, of the race Wednesday following a sexual assault allegation”

CBS News

CBS News reported that Platner’s insurgent campaign collapsed just days after a Maine woman he previously dated, Jenny Racicot, accused him of raping her in 2021, which Platner denied.

CBS News

Fox News Digital said the Maine Democratic Party held a meeting with over 100 state committee members who voted to hold a nominating convention to choose a new nominee if there is a vacancy to fill.

The Hill said Platner announced Wednesday he was suspending his campaign after new allegations added to a string of other controversies around the political newcomer’s bid, and it cited a Politico report that a woman alleged Platner raped her in 2021 and another woman alleged he removed condoms without her consent during sex.

WBUR said Platner’s withdrawal from Maine’s U.S. Senate race Wednesday night kick-started a scramble for a replacement that had been happening largely behind closed doors since Monday.

WBUR said Maine Democratic Party leaders planned to hold a nominating convention to select Platner’s replacement before July 27, while also saying they had not provided a specific date or additional details.

The Hill reported that Maine Democrats have just more than two weeks to land on a new nominee before the window to put forward a replacement closes on July 27, and it said Platner’s timeline gave the state party the power to pick a replacement if he dropped out before Monday’s deadline.

Fox News

Troy Jackson announced “I’m in” less than an hour after Platner dropped out, and he told supporters that “There is a powerful movement of working class people in the state of Maine, and millions more across America who are ready to send a progressive fighter to the Senate,” according to The Hill.

Nirav Shah said Democrats were “feeling 1,000 emotions at once,” but “the one that is overriding is the eagerness and the commitment to defeating Susan Collins in the fall,” as CBS News reported.

Fox News Digital said the convention would include 600 voting delegates, who pick the nominee, and it added that most of those delegates would likely be chosen by country branches of the party.

WBUR quoted Bellows saying “The most important thing is winning in November because nothing less than control of the U.S. Senate and whether we are able to hold Donald Trump accountable and fight for working-class people — is at stake,” as the party races to replace Platner.

“byCaroline VakilandJulia Mueller07/09/26 12:28 PM ET All eyes have turned toa handful of Maine Democratswho could take the mantle after Graham Platner stepped back as the party’s Senate nominee amidgrowing pressureto withdraw, leaving Democrats without a candidate to take on Sen”

The Hill

Fox News Digital said the Maine Democratic Party will replace Platner on the general election ballot by selecting a new nominee through its party process, with the replacement required to be chosen by July 27.

CBS News reported that at stake is one of the most closely watched and heavily contested Senate races of the year, as national Democrats seek to deny Republican Sen. Susan Collins a sixth term.

The Hill said Platner’s supporters and opponents framed the decision differently, with Platner telling voters, “We’re not doing it because of the allegations,” and instead arguing he was reacting to “the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power.”

WBUR said the scramble is happening as Platner’s support among state and national Democratic leaders collapsed earlier this week after a former romantic partner accused him of raping her five years ago, and it described the replacement race as a roughly two-week campaign sprint controlled by the state party.