Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat in Maine, Graham Platner, has announced he will end his campaign following media allegations that he sexually assaulted a former lover. CNN in an analytical article noted that “the Democrats were disgraced” by not withdrawing their support of Platner in advance when he was suspected of wearing tattoos with Nazi symbols on his body for many years and his old publications were found on the social network Reddit.
Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer who served in the Army as a young man and later with the private U.S. military in Afghanistan, was running as a democratic socialist representing the party's left wing and working class.
His main challenger in the June 9 Democratic primary was supposed to be former Maine Gov. Janet Mills, but she decided to withdraw before the vote, citing campaign finance concerns. Platner ultimately won the open primary and was expected to compete in November for the Senate seat against Republican Susan Collins, who has represented the state for nearly 30 years.
The scandal that prevented Platner from continuing his campaign erupted in early July, when his peer Jenny Rasicott told first Politico and then CNN that the future politician raped her in 2021 after two years of dating. The woman said Platner broke into her home drunk, had sex with her without her permission, and dropped a sewing machine on her, causing injuries. Rasikot did not contact the police, but provided the media with her correspondence from that time with loved ones and information about her contact with a psychologist.
Platner's campaign and the candidate personally denied the allegations, linking them to the actions of the “state political establishment,” which allegedly also coordinated past negative stories about politics in the media. Platner, however, acknowledged that he would consider the future of the campaign. A few days later, he announced that he was withdrawing from the election after discussing the situation with his wife Amy Gertner.
“We believe that in order for our movement to continue to move forward, I cannot remain a candidate,” Platner said, while emphasizing that the decision is not an “admission of guilt.”
My name might be on the ballot right now, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine. pic.twitter.com/RKVyLU76tm
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 9, 2026
Shortly before this, a number of his party comrades, including Congressman Ro Khanna (California) and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (New York), withdrew their support for Platner. They were also joined by Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont), who campaigned for Platner throughout his campaign. The nonpartisan leader of the American left emphasized that he personally conveyed to the candidate a recommendation over the phone to abandon the fight.
CNN believes that Democrats should have earlier withdrawn their support for a candidate who “turned out to have a remarkable number of skeletons” in his closet. As RTVI wrote, stories about Platner’s chest tattoo resembling the SS symbol, as well as his aggressive statements on Reddit, appeared in the media back in 2025.
Platner then claimed that he immediately interrupted the tattoo, having learned about its meaning only recently, and on social networks he allegedly looked for an outlet against the background of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), received as a result of military service. At the same time, Platner’s former acquaintances told the media that in conversations he affectionately called the tattoo “my Totenkopf” (“Death’s Head”), which probably indicated his understanding of the meaning of the image. Shortly before the June primaries, it also became known about the candidate's adultery.
As the Maine Morning Star notes, at least seven other state Democrats have announced their readiness to replace Platner in the U.S. Senate elections. The party will now have to choose a candidate through a special convention vote in Maine, which will have to be held for the first time in history. It will include 500 delegates drawn proportionally from the state's districts, as well as 100 members of the local Democratic party committee. The deadline to register a new candidate is July 27.
One of the favorites is former Maine gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson, who registered his Senate campaign with the Federal Election Commission immediately after the latest allegations against Platner. After he announced his withdrawal from the candidacy, Jackson, 58, released his first campaign video. In comments to the media, he noted that he himself supported Platner, as he shared his ideas, in particular about free healthcare. Sanders' organization Our Revolution, by the way, has already expressed support for Jackson.
Other unsuccessful candidates for state governor, Shanna Bellows and Nirav Shah, may compete with him, The American Prospect adds.
