Embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner on Friday officially dropped out of the race, paving the way for Democrats to select a new nominee just days before the deadline.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“I write to formally withdraw my candidacy for United States Senate,” Platner wrote in a letter to Maine’s division of elections that he shared on X.Maine’s Secretary of State office, which oversees elections, confirmed receipt of the letter.Platner announced on Wednesday that he planned to withdraw from the race, but he had yet to file the necessary paperwork to do so with Maine’s Secretary of State.Democrats have until July 27 at 5 p.m.to find a replacement that will face Republican Sen.
Susan Collins in November in one of the nation’s most competitive Senate elections.Candidates must formally declare by July 15 at 5 p.m.
Candidates began jockeying to replace Platner last week, even before he announced his exit following a new sexual assault allegation against him made by a former girlfriend.The woman, Jenny Racicot, told Politico and CNN that he forced her to have sex with him in 2021, a claim he has rebuked as “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 his campaign’s suspension.
“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.
And for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations,” he added.“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.”At least half a dozen candidates have already jumped into the contest to replace Platner — including several who ran, and lost, in the state’s gubernatorial and...