Graham Platner, the scandal-ridden Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine, officially withdrew from the race Friday, days after suspending his campaign amid mounting allegations of rape, sexual misconduct, and scrutiny over a Nazi tattoo.
Platner submitted a formal withdrawal letter to the Maine Department of the Secretary of State, ending his candidacy after initially resisting calls from Democratic leaders to step aside. “Please consider this notice as my official withdrawal from consideration for this office,” Platner wrote. The letter closes with a political message reading, “F*ck ICE. Free Palestine. Up the Hearts. Solidarity forever.”
“Up the Hearts” appears to reference Portland Hearts of Pine, Maine’s first professional soccer club.
Platner framed his withdrawal as an effort to preserve the political movement that propelled him to the Democratic nomination last month. “On June 9th, 156,084 Mainers voted for a new kind of politics,” he wrote, adding that voters supported “Medicare for All,” banning billionaires from influencing elections, ending “taxpayer-funded genocide and forever wars,” strengthening unions, and expanding affordable housing. “My name may have been on the ballot, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine,” he added.
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 10, 2026
His departure leaves Democrats scrambling to choose a new nominee to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate races of the election cycle. Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, a Platner ally who publicly urged him to withdraw, has emerged as a potential replacement after launching an exploratory committee.
The race remains a top Democratic pickup opportunity as the party attempts to regain control of the Senate in November.
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