Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner on Friday formally ended his candidacy for the U.S. Senate, releasing the letter he submitted to the Maine Secretary of State to make his exit from the race official.
“I write to formally withdraw my candidacy for United States Senate,” Platner wrote in the letter, which he posted to X Friday afternoon.
Platner’s decision to withdraw represents a significant turning point in one of nation’s most closely watched and contested Senate races after what had been a chaotic week, during which his campaign unraveled amid sexual assault allegations from a former romantic partner.
Platner has denied the sexual assault allegations, but they prompted several Democratic leaders — among them California Rep. Ro Khanna, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren — to withdraw their support for Platner and urge him to step away.
Instead of addressing the allegations head-on, Platner used the letter to frame his candidacy as akin to a broader movement, pointing to the more than 156,000 residents of Maine who backed him in the Democratic party primary.
“On June 9th, 156,084 Mainers voted for a new kind of politics,” Planter wrote. “One that is representative of people down here in the real world — not billionaires, oligarchs, or the political establishment.”
Platner thanked his supporters who “poured their hearts, time, and talent” into the campaign over the past 11 months and said his decision to withdraw was intended to advance the movement they had built together.
“My name may have been on the ballot, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine,” Platner wrote. “As such, please consider this notice as my official withdrawal from consideration for this office.”
He ended the letter in rather defiant fashion: “F**k ICE. Free Palestine. Up the Hearts.”
The day prior, Platner announced in a video message that he was suspending his campaign, maintaining his innocence while saying the movement behind his candidacy would be better served without him being on the ballot.