Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner dropped out of the race on Wednesday after facing multiple allegations of sexual assault, setting off a scramble to replace him in a must-win race for the party.

“This is incredibly difficult, because I know that some will think it’s an admission of guilt, and it most certainly is not. 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,” he said in an 11-minute video Wednesday evening.

Platner spent a considerable amount of time in the video complaining about the Democratic Party withdrawing support for him because of the scandal and portraying his exit as the result of a coordinated campaign against him and the progressive movement ― even though virtually every prominent progressive leader has called for him to drop out of the race.

“We did it the right way. We built a campaign, we engaged in electoral politics, we motivated people, we banded together. We did it the way that we were told we are supposed to make change, and we won. And now they are not going to let us have it ― not if it’s me,” Platner said.

The scandal-plagued Platner’s final implosion has caused substantial finger-pointing within the party but is nonetheless a substantial boon to their chances against GOP Sen. Susan Collins, the five-term moderate who is the most vulnerable Republican senator up for reelection this cycle.

Platner, most Democratic operatives believe, was destined to lose following the rape allegations ― even if Maine’s Democratic partisanship may have given him a fighting chance. Instead, the party will have the choice of a handful of comparatively scandal-free candidates, some of whom have strong electoral track records.

The deadline to withdraw was July 13. Maine Democrats now have until July 27 to replace Platner with a new nominee. The Maine Democratic Party said it would select a replacement through a nominating convention, which is set to include 500 members chosen by county Democratic parties and the 100 members of the state Democratic Party’s central committee.

Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president who shares Platner’s working-class progressive ideology, became the first candidate to officially throw his hat into the ring to replace Platner on the ballot.

“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. I’ve been fighting for that movement my whole life — and I’m sure as hell not backing down now, when this fight is needed most,” Jackson said in a statement. “I’m in. And we’re going to defeat Susan Collins. Maine deserves a Senator that will fight for working families.”

Jackson is expected to soon be joined in the race by a host of other possibilities, including Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, Maine Beer Company founder Dan Kleban and former public health official Nirav Shah.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said it was setting up a campaign fund to raise money for the eventual nominee, with the cash transferred as soon as a new candidate is picked. The group released a statement which laid out Collins’ vulnerabilities without ever mentioning Platner.

“Susan Collins is more vulnerable than she has ever been after voting with Trump 96% of the time, being the decisive vote for the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, and selling out to the special interests that fund her campaigns after three decades in the Senate,” said Devan Barber, the group’s executive director. “The DSCC will work tirelessly to ensure the new Democratic nominee has the infrastructure and resources to immediately turn their focus to the general election, and in November we will defeat Susan Collins and win a Senate majority.”

In statements about Platner’s exit, Republicans tried to stir up divides within the Democratic Party, essentially echoing Platner’s conspiratorial worldview.

“Democrats have not suddenly embraced moral clarity. Graham Platner was never an acceptable nominee for Chuck Schumer, his billionaire donors, and the beltway media,” said Alex Latcham, the executive director of Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC controlled by allies of Senate Majority Leader John Thune. “Now, at the 11th hour, the Democrat Establishment has tipped the scales against Maine voters in an attempt to salvage their failing midterm strategy. Regardless of who Washington Democrats install, Senator Susan Collins will win in November.”

Platner’s decision to withdraw from the race comes after a campaign riddled with controversy. A bombshell report in Politico on Monday claimed he sexually assaulted a woman he used to date off and on for a couple of years. The following day, The Washington Post also published a shocking report, in which an ex-girlfriend of Platner also accused him of sexual assault.

Maine resident Jenny Racicot, 41, accused Platner of entering her home uninvited while intoxicated in 2021.

“I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” Racicot told Politico. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, ‘This is no longer my choice.’”

Soon after the Politico story was published, Platner denied the allegations and said he and his team would weigh their next options.

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“Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false,” he said in a video posted to social media.

“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, we’re mindful the political reality will inflict,” Platner added. “We are 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.”

In The Washington Post’s report on Tuesday, Lyndsey Fifield, 41, who dated Platner from 2013 to 2015, said that Platner removed condoms during sex, an act known as “stealthing,” without her consent at least six times.

“I confronted him both during and after [sex] because he knew that I was not on birth control and how dangerous that was,” Fifield told The Washington Post.

“He would act like cute about it, like, ‘Oh, sneaky me,’” she said.

Platner denied the stealthing allegation to The Post.

Fifield was one of several women who used to date him featured in a New York Times report published last month, before he earned the party nomination. The women accused Platner of exhibiting alarming behavior in several instances.

In that report, Fifield accused him of being physically rough with her on multiple occasions, including yanking her out of a cab and twisting her arm behind her back before refusing to let her out of a room. She also said he fantasized about killing and raping people.

His campaign told the Times that Platner “strongly disputes” the physical intimidation claims.

On Monday and Tuesday, Platner lost numerous endorsements, including from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Democratic Reps. Ro Khanna and Ruben Gallego.

Additionally, Maine Democratic Party leadership called on Platner to withdraw from the Senate race.

“Maine Democratic Party leadership takes seriously our responsibility to hold every candidate who seeks to represent our state to the highest standard. Over the past several weeks, multiple women have made serious, credible allegations against Graham Platner. Today’s statements take those allegations even further,” the Monday statement said. “Maine Democratic Party leadership is calling on Graham Platner to withdraw as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.”

Likewise, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee threatened to stop investing in Maine’s Senate race if Platner didn’t drop out.

On the opposite end of the political spectrum, President Donald Trump, who has also been accused of sexual assault, questioned the validity of the allegations while talking with reporters aboard Air Force One.

“It’s really a question of whether or not you believe the woman,” Trump said Wednesday. “A lot of people say big falsehoods.”

There has been a notable power struggle since the allegations were publicized.

An unnamed source told The New York Times that Platner would only consider withdrawing from the race “with a guarantee of being replaced by a candidate who he believes is true to the values and vision and policy agenda of the campaign that Maine voted for.”

The Maine Democratic Party has instead advocated for an “open, inclusive, transparent and fair” process.

“Unfortunately, Graham Platner’s team has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like,” Maine Democratic Party executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson said in a video on Tuesday, adding that his team will have “no role” in determining next steps.

Platner’s campaign surveyed volunteers on Wednesday about “what they believe should come next.”

His campaign manager, Ben Chin, also sent out a mass text to supporters on Wednesday claiming the party was trying to make it so “that our movement will ‘have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, nor in determining what this process looks like.’”

Local outlet Maine’s Total Coverage reported that Platner called Maine State Rep. Valli Gieger and some unnamed others, urging them to run to take his place on the ballot.

Some other potential replacements, like Actor Patrick Dempsey and Boston College history professor Heather Cox Richardson, have already stated that they will not run.

The sexual assault allegations added to several other scandals that plagued Platner’s campaign, including his now-removed tattoo associated with the Nazis, explicit text messages sent to women who weren’t his wife, and misogynistic posts he made online.

Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.

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