Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner officially withdraws from race
Graham Platner formally withdrew from the Maine Senate race on Friday, days after he announced he was suspending his campaign in the wake of a sexual assault allegation, which he has denied.
Platner shared his letter to the Maine Secretary of State's office in a post on X.
"I write to formally withdraw my candidacy for the United States Senate," the letter reads.
The Maine Secretary of State's office confirmed via a press release that it has received the formal notice of withdrawal from the race, which had been one of the most closely watched in the country as Democrats seek to take back the Senate.
Platner won the state's Democratic primary in June with more than 70% of the vote to challenge Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the general election in November.
Earlier this week, a source told ABC News that Platner privately told staff that he planned to officially file the paperwork to withdraw from the race on Monday -- the last day he could do so.
Platner's exit from the race came after growing pressure from Democrats, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who were early supporters of his campaign, which focused on being an outsider who could take on wealth inequality.
On Monday, Politico published a report containing an allegation from Jenny Racicot, a former girlfriend, that Platner forced her into having sex without her consent after repeatedly telling him to stop while they were dating five years ago.
Platner has continued to deny the allegation, calling it "categorically false."
What to know about Maine Democratic convention to pick new nominee
Hours after Platner formally withdrew from the race, the Maine Democratic Party announced it would hold a convention to choose a new nominee on July 25 -- just two days before a July 27 deadline.
The convention will be made up of 601 delegates from Maine's 16 counties. Of those, 101 will be members of the Democratic State Committee, who are elected by Maine voters. The remaining 500 will be delegates appointed from each county.
Voting will be conducted in rounds until one candidate receives a majority, and the convention will be livestreamed.
"The convention will be fair, representative, and as transparent as possible as we all come together in service of our ultimate goal: defeat Susan Collins and win this Senate seat," Maine Democratic State Committee Chair Charlie Dingman said in a news release announcing details of the convention.
In his notice of withdrawal, Platner writes that Maine voters want change and to further the American dream.
"People are desperate for change," he wrote. For this broken system to be righted. For the American experiment to be furthered."
"My name may have been on the ballot, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine," he wrote in the letter with his formal withdrawal from the race.
Platner faced several scandals since he launched his campaign, including sending sexually explicit texts to multiple women and previously having a tattoo with Nazi symbolism. Platner said he didn't know his tattoo had a Nazi association and covered it up when he learned about its meaning.
Platner responded to report about his explicit text messages, saying he and his wife "went through something hard -- because of me" and added that "people don't care about gossip or headlines, they care that you're fighting for their hospitals, their paycheck, their kids."
