Graham Platner stopped his campaign for U.S. Senate in Maine on Wednesday, July 8. He made the announcement in a video posted online, days after a woman accused him of sexual assault.

"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 the video, according to NPR.

Here is what matters: stopping his campaign is not the same as taking his name off the ballot. He suspended active campaigning, but he is still listed as a candidate. The Maine Democratic Party has not yet said whether he will take the further step of formally withdrawing.

On Monday, July 6, Politico reported that a woman named Jenny Racicot says Platner came to her home in 2021 while drunk, without permission, and sexually assaulted her, per NPR. Platner denied it. "Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue," he said.

Racicot had been mentioned before. The New York Times included her in a June 4 story about Platner's past relationships, but did not describe a rape allegation at that time. She later spoke to CNN about what she says happened. Over the course of about a month, what had been a quiet background story turned into a major allegation.

Two days before he announced the suspension, Platner posted another video. He said he was "taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to and the goal of defeating Susan Collins." That reflection lasted two days.

Top Democrats quickly abandoned him. Representative Ro Khanna, Senator Ruben Gallego, and Senator Elizabeth Warren took back their endorsements after Politico's story ran. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who had been one of Platner's biggest supporters, withdrew his support too. The Maine Democratic Party called on Platner to drop out entirely. The group that runs Senate Democrats' campaigns said it would not spend money on Maine if Platner stayed in the race, according to NPR.

The Maine Democratic Party has also accused Platner's team of trying to control who might replace him as the nominee, NPR reported July 8. NBC News has begun looking at who might step in, per NBC News.

There is a hard deadline. Maine law says Platner had to withdraw by Monday, July 13, for the state party to pick someone new before July 27, per NPR. That means Democrats have about five days to get a formal withdrawal from Platner. If they do not, they would have to run the general election with a candidate who is still on the ballot but not campaigning — a situation with no clear answer.

The general election is set for November 3. Republican Senator Susan Collins is running for reelection against whoever Democrats end up nominating. Platner won the Democratic primary on June 9, but that was before this allegation became public.

This is also not the first time Platner has faced controversy. An ex-girlfriend told the AP in early June that Platner grabbed her hard enough to leave bruises and pulled her from a cab. He won the primary anyway. In March, he had argued publicly with Governor Janet Mills over a campaign ad she ran. An October 2025 AP report said he had stayed in the race despite separate controversies over old tattoos and past statements. Each of those stories was a bump in the road but did not stop him. This situation is different.