Graham Platner formally exits Maine Senate race in explosive letter complete with expletive sign-off amid sexual assault allegations

By STEPHEN M. LEPORE, US SENIOR REPORTER Published: 22:31, 10 July 2026 | Updated: 22:48, 10 July 2026 Disgraced Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner has officially submitted his letter of withdrawal, dropping out of his race following sexual assault allegations. Platner bowed out after Jenny Racicot's allegation on Monday, despite steadfastly denying a Politico report detailing the allegation. He posted an 11-minute long video to social media Wednesday where he again denied the allegations but said that 'the immense amount of weight' on him forced him out of the race. In a letter to the secretary of state's office, which Platner also posted on social media, he wrote that the Mainers who had nominated him 'voted for a new kind of politics' that is 'representative of people down here in the real world — not billionaires, oligarchs, or the political establishment.'  It was the same outsider chord that had been a trademark of his tumultuous campaign, in which Platner drew backing from progressive leaders including Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna.  'I seek to further the movement we have built together and the future we believe in,' he went on, without detailing what that meant.  The letter reads more as a manifesto, ending with an expletive for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and support for Palestine, as well as the state's local lower division soccer team. 'F*** ICE. Free Palestine. Up the Hearts. Solidarity forever,' wrote Platner. Racicot, 41, told the outlet she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for more than two years before the night when he showed up to her rural Maine home uninvited in 2021.  Disgraced Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner has officially submitted his letter of withdrawal, dropping out of his race following sexual assault allegations Racicot, as well as fellow Platner ex Lindsey Fifield, sat down with CNN to discuss their alleged experiences with him as a partner as well.  She told Politico that she and Platner exchanged messages the night of the attack and she told him not to come over, but later that evening, she heard him letting himself into her unlocked house. Platner came upstairs to where she was sitting on the couch and appeared to be 'blackout drunk' when he ignored her protests and started 'grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me.' 'I had been telling him these words, like: 'No, don't,'' she told Politico. 'And, the look on his face and realizing what was happening, I just realized that, like, I am in a situation where there's no consent here.' Racicot claimed that she tried to get away from Platner by going to her bedroom, but he followed her inside and had sex with her against her will. She said he ejaculated inside her despite her asking him not to because she was not on birth control.  The alleged victim said that she went to the bathroom to clean herself up, and when she returned, Platner was already asleep. The following morning, she confronted him about the encounter, but Platner said he couldn't remember. She asked him to leave and never contact her again. Platner, 41, said in a video statement on Monday: 'I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me. Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false.' 'Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, 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,' he added.  'Those were the goals when I launched this campaign, and they remain my goals today.' The married Iraq war veteran faced an immediate wave of left wing backlash, including from top Democratic lawmakers who pulled their support.