Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner formally withdraws from race

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July 10, 2026 4:59 PM EDT

FILE PHOTO: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at a campaign town hall meeting in Ogunquit, Maine, U.S., October 22, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

July 10 (Reuters) - Maine Democratic ‌Senate nominee ​Graham ​Platner has officially withdrawn from the state's U.S. Senate race, the Maine secretary of state's office said in ‌a statement on Friday, meaning his name will not ⁠appear on the November 3 ballot and his political party has until ‌July 27 to name a ‌replacement.

Platner's formal withdrawal came one month after he earned the Democratic Party nomination to challenge Republican Senator Susan Collins. Platner ​easily won the June 9 Democratic primary and became crucial to Democrats' drive to win control of the Senate ⁠from Republicans in the November 3 election.

His fall came following a series of accusations ​this week, including one of rape, which he has denied.

"I write to formally withdraw my candidacy for ​United States Senate," Platner wrote in ‌a letter to the Maine secretary of state's office.

The letter outlined major themes of his now-doomed campaign, ⁠including his drive for national healthcare. He concluded with an expletive aimed at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that is at ⁠the center of President Donald Trump's migrant deportation program and a call ​for a "Free Palestine."

There already are six Democrats who have formally announced campaigns to replace Platner, in a procedure yet to be detailed by the ‌Maine Democratic Party.

An outline of the process has been announced that would have party delegates gathering ‌at a nominating convention, occurring before the July 27 deadline for ⁠submitting the new nominee's name ‌that will appear ​on November ballots.

(Reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones in Toronto and Richard Cowan; Editing by Daphne Psaledakis and ‌David Gaffen)


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