Platner formally exits Maine Senate race

Graham Platner formally withdrew from Maine’s U.S. Senate race Friday, clearing the way for Democrats to choose a replacement nominee in one of the country’s most closely watched contests just days before a state deadline.

“I write to formally withdraw my candidacy for United States Senate,” Platner wrote in a letter to Maine election officials that he also shared on X. Maine’s secretary of state’s office confirmed it had received the written notice, making his withdrawal official.

The filing ends uncertainty over whether Platner, who announced earlier that he planned to suspend his campaign, would complete the required paperwork in time. Under Maine law, because he withdrew before the deadline, his name will not appear on the November ballot and the Democratic Party may replace him. The party has until July 27 at 5 p.m. to name a new nominee.

The Democratic nominee will face Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November. The race is expected to be highly competitive and could help determine control of the Senate.

Platner’s departure came after a former girlfriend, Jenny Racicot, accused him of forcing her to have sex with him in 2021, an allegation reported by Politico and CNN. Platner has denied the claim, calling it “categorically false.”

“What comes next needs to come from the people, needs to come from the people of Maine,” Platner said in a video announcing the suspension of his campaign operations. “It needs to be open, transparent and democratic. It needs to be reflecting the will and the values of the people that built this movement.”

“We believe that for the movement to continue, it can’t be me,” he added. “And for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations. 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.”

In his withdrawal letter, Platner said 156,084 Mainers had voted on June 9 “for a new kind of politics.” He wrote that voters backed “Medicare for All; to ban billionaires from buying elections; and for an end to taxpayer-funded genocide and forever wars.” He added: “They voted for time and dignity; for strong unions and jobs they can raise families on; for the hope of buying a home; for the chance to retire with grace.”

“My name may have been on the ballot, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine,” Platner wrote. “As such, please consider this notice as my official withdrawal from consideration for this office.”

The Maine Democratic Party has said it will hold a nominating convention to select a replacement. Candidates must formally declare by July 15 at 5 p.m., NBC News reported. At least half a dozen candidates have already entered the contest, including several who lost primaries this year and one person who ran against Collins in 2014. The Guardian reported that one declared candidate is Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.

State party executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson told NBC News’ “Meet the Press NOW” that Platner “dropping out today was the right thing to do,” adding that “the allegations that were brought against him were very real and they were very credible.” She said the party would require potential nominees to engage Maine voters, most likely through petition collection from Democratic voters across the state.

Platner’s campaign had faced earlier controversies. NBC News reported that he apologized in October after past Reddit posts resurfaced in which he called himself a “communist,” called police “bastards,” and said women who are raped need to “take some responsibility for themselves.” In May, his wife said she was “angry” and “disappointed” after reports that he had exchanged sexual texts with women outside his marriage. In June, several former girlfriends, including Racicot, told The New York Times about what they described as “unsettling behavior” while dating him.