{"id":875,"date":"2026-07-09T17:09:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:09:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875"},"modified":"2026-07-09T17:09:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:09:05","slug":"graham-platner-ends-senate-bid-following-slew-of-sexual-assault-allegations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875","title":{"rendered":"Graham Platner Ends Senate Bid Following Slew of Sexual Assault Allegations"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
\n
\n

Honest, paywall-free news is rare. Please support our boldly independent journalism with <\/span><\/i>a donation<\/span><\/i> of any size.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s Portfolio Has Directly Benefited From His Global Military Escalations<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for U.S. senator in Maine, formally suspended his campaign on Wednesday night after he lost support from virtually every Democrat who had once backed him, following a series of rape and sexual abuse allegations against him.<\/p>\n

Platner announced his decision in a video on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that for the movement to continue it can\u2019t be me \u2014 and for that reason we are suspending campaign operations,\u201d Platner said. <\/p>\n

The former Senate nominee struck a divisive tone in the video, refusing to take responsibility for what he called \u201cfalse allegations\u201d against him and instead blaming the Democratic Party for his having to leave the race.<\/p>\n

The allegations \u201care being used by the political establishment to put structural pressure on us,\u201d Platner claimed. \u201cWe live in a political system that is not built for normal people.\u201d <\/p>\n

Platner\u2019s campaign advisers reportedly asked him to strike a more conciliatory tone. Platner clearly rejected that advice. <\/p>\n

Platner, a former Marine and current oyster farmer in the state, launched his campaign for U.S. Senate in August 2025, aiming to unseat longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins. His campaign focused on opposing oligarchy, tying Collins to billionaires and policies that empower them. The Democratic candidate also campaigned on issues like universal health care and workers\u2019 rights, drawing the support of progressive voices like Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders. Platner ended up winning his primary election in early June. <\/p>\n

But Platner, who also once worked as a security contractor for Blackwater with the State Department in 2018, saw several controversies from his past creep forward during the past year. Among them was scrutiny over his tattoo of a Totenkopf<\/em>, a symbol used by Nazi Germany. Platner claimed that he wasn\u2019t aware of the symbol\u2019s meaning when he had the tattoo done decades ago, and that he had since had it covered up.<\/p>\n

Platner\u2019s past social media posts, including commentaries disparaging Black people and LGBTQ people, also sparked controversy. Platner blamed these and other actions on PTSD from his time in the military and his struggles with alcoholism.<\/p>\n

Disturbingly, past Reddit posts in which he victim-blamed survivors of sexual assault were also discovered. In the now-deleted posts, Platner said that those victims should \u201cjust take some responsibility for themselves\u201d and \u201cact like an adult for fucks sake.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Released Detainees Say They Saw Hussam Abu Safiya Tortured in Israeli Custody<\/a><\/p>\n

It was his own alleged history with sexual assault that became his undoing. Several articles during the campaign detailed Platner\u2019s violent tendencies in past relationships \u2014 allegations his campaign claimed were conjured up by Republican exes. But this week a woman who dated Platner just five years ago alleged that he forced her to have sex with him. <\/p>\n

According to Maine resident Jenny Racicot, who had an on-again, off-again relationship with Platner around 2021, he came to her house one night deeply intoxicated, refusing to listen to her text messages telling him not to come. Platner allegedly grabbed her by the pelvis and was \u201creally forceful.\u201d He raped her that evening, Racicot recounted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, \u2018This is no longer my choice,’\u201d Racicot told Politico<\/em>, which reported the story on Monday. She indicated that she didn\u2019t come forward with details about the assault earlier because she didn\u2019t want to be known as a rape victim. But because another victim came forward \u2014 and that person\u2019s account was discounted for political reasons \u2014 Racicot said she felt compelled to do so as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the reasons I didn\u2019t come forward sooner was, the huge moral conflict that I had between supporting his politics, but not supporting him as a person,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Platner flatly rejected the allegations, calling them \u201ctroubling, serious, and false.\u201d But days later, a former girlfriend of Platner\u2019s also came forward with allegations, accusing him of removing condoms in the middle of intercourse without her consent. <\/p>\n

In response to the allegations, numerous people and organizations dropped their previous support for Platner, calling for him to drop out of the race entirely so that a new person could run. Among those who retracted their support were Sanders, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California), and others. <\/p>\n

\u201cGraham Platner needs to immediately withdraw as the Democratic nominee for Senate and allow Maine Democrats the opportunity to choose a new candidate who can defeat Susan Collins,\u201d read a joint statement from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York), chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York).<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Senate race comes at a pivotal moment in the struggle against a government, supported by Senator Collins, that serves the interests of the wealthy and powerful at the expense of ordinary Maine people. It is essential that we refocus this campaign on that struggle,\u201d a statement from leaders of the Maine Democratic Party read. <\/p>\n

The party announced that it will hold a nominating convention to select a new candidate to replace Platner. The main frontrunner for that nomination appears to be former state senator Troy Jackson, who last year made an unsuccessful run for governor, and who has already gained the endorsement of the Sanders-founded group, Our Revolution. Other notable contenders for the nomination are Maine Beer Company owner Dan Kleban, who ran in the Democratic primary against Platner before dropping out early, and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows.<\/p>\n

Read more Calls Grow for Independent Investigation Into ICE-Perpetrated Killing in Houston<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Platner took a divisive tone in a video announcing his decision, blaming establishment Democrats for his exit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nGraham Platner Ends Senate Bid Following Slew of Sexual Assault Allegations - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Graham Platner Ends Senate Bid Following Slew of Sexual Assault Allegations - Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Platner took a divisive tone in a video announcing his decision, blaming establishment Democrats for his exit.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-09T17:09:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=875#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=875\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\"},\"headline\":\"Graham Platner Ends Senate Bid Following Slew of Sexual Assault Allegations\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-09T17:09:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=875\"},\"wordCount\":969,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=875#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/afec06cef3810ed24f4abb76ed8219da.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=875#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=875\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=875\",\"name\":\"Graham Platner Ends Senate Bid Following Slew of Sexual Assault Allegations - Smart Moving Home\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=875#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=875#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/afec06cef3810ed24f4abb76ed8219da.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-09T17:09:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=875#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=875\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=875#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/afec06cef3810ed24f4abb76ed8219da.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/afec06cef3810ed24f4abb76ed8219da.jpg\",\"width\":2300,\"height\":1533},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=875#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Graham Platner Ends Senate Bid Following Slew of Sexual Assault Allegations\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Smart Moving Home\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Graham Platner Ends Senate Bid Following Slew of Sexual Assault Allegations - Smart Moving Home","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Graham Platner Ends Senate Bid Following Slew of Sexual Assault Allegations - Smart Moving Home","og_description":"Platner took a divisive tone in a video announcing his decision, blaming establishment Democrats for his exit.","og_url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875","og_site_name":"Smart Moving Home","article_published_time":"2026-07-09T17:09:05+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa"},"headline":"Graham Platner Ends Senate Bid Following Slew of Sexual Assault Allegations","datePublished":"2026-07-09T17:09:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875"},"wordCount":969,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/afec06cef3810ed24f4abb76ed8219da.jpg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875","url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875","name":"Graham Platner Ends Senate Bid Following Slew of Sexual Assault Allegations - Smart Moving Home","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/afec06cef3810ed24f4abb76ed8219da.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-09T17:09:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/afec06cef3810ed24f4abb76ed8219da.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/afec06cef3810ed24f4abb76ed8219da.jpg","width":2300,"height":1533},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=875#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Graham Platner Ends Senate Bid Following Slew of Sexual Assault Allegations"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/","name":"Smart Moving Home","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/smartmovinghome.com"],"url":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}