Maine Democrat Graham Platner suspended his campaign for Senate on Wednesday night, a move that allows the state party to select an alternate candidate to face Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a marquee matchup this fall. 

Platner’s announcement that he would drop out of the race comes two days after he denied a Politico report that he had sexually assaulted a woman he once dated. 

“We believe that for the movement to continue, it can’t be me,” Platner said in an 11-minute video posted to social media. “And for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations.”

Platner reiterated that the accusations against him are false. But he said that the political system had taken away the structure needed to run a viable Senate campaign. 

“The brutal political reality is that they are going to take everything away from us,” he said. “Those in power, who have the ability to do so, are using these allegations as an excuse to take away all of the things that we need to run a campaign.”

After a meeting for state committee members on Wednesday, the Maine Democratic Party said it planned to hold a nominating convention to select a new nominee in the case that Platner dropped out. 

“There is an unprecedented amount of energy and enthusiasm among Maine Democrats, driven in part by many of the dedicated volunteers and supporters who were inspired by Graham Platner’s campaign,” the state party’s leaders state in a statement. “We look forward to coming together and harnessing that energy around our new nominee as we work to defeat Susan Collins in November.”

Platner’s announcement caps a swift rise and fall for the oysterman and military veteran who launched an outsider Senate bid last August and went on to win the Democratic nomination to challenge Collins, who is seeking a sixth term. Backed by a populist platform, Platner proved a strong fundraiser, drawing large crowds to his events, and continued to poll strongly even after Maine Gov. Janet Mills entered the race. Mills stopped actively campaigning in April, saying she lacked the resources to continue.

But after Jenny Racicot, a Maine woman who said she previously had an “on-and-off” relationship with Platner, told Politico that he once entered her home uninvited and sexually assaulted her, he quickly lost support from most other Democrats. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand said the party’s campaign arm wouldn’t invest in the race if Platner remained on the ballot and Senate Majority PAC, Senate Democrats’ main super PAC, said it was “redirecting resources away from the Maine Senate race.”

“We continue to believe this seat is winnable if Platner is not on the ballot, but we cannot strategically continue to invest here when there is an expansive battleground map where these resources can help win a Democratic majority,” Senate Majority PAC spokesperson Lauren French said in a statement Monday.

Maine is seen as a must-win state for Senate Democrats this year in their difficult quest to take control of the chamber. But Collins, the only Senate Republican to represent a state Kamala Harris carried in 2024, has a long history of beating back Democratic challengers in the blue-leaning state.

While Schumer and Gillibrand initially backed Mills and only endorsed Platner once he became the presumptive nominee, supporters of Platner’s from before the primary – including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and California Rep. Ro Khanna –  also withdrew their backing and called on him to drop out of the race.

“With so much at stake, the best path forward is for Graham Platner to step aside as the Democratic nominee and address these serious allegations outside this Senate race,” Warren said in a statement Monday night.

With Platner out, Maine Democrats now have until July 27, under state law, to pick his replacement on the ballot. Several Democrats who unsuccessfully ran for governor this year are reportedly seen as potential options, including Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who lost to Collins in 2014 and Nirav Shah, who previously led the state’s public health agency. Former congressional staffer Jordan Wood, who launched a Senate campaign before shifting to run for the 2nd District, is also considered as an option, while Paige Loud, another 2nd District candidate, also filed paperwork to run with the Federal Election Commission this week.

Shah, who was the runner-up in the gubernatorial primary, said Tuesday that he was having conversations about whether to enter the not-yet-official Senate race and called for a “transparent and open” nominating process.

“Anyone running for this nomination should agree to at least one televised debate and hold multiple public town halls across every corner of the state,” he said in a statement. 

Dan Kleban, the founder of Maine Beer Company who briefly ran for Senate last year before endorsing Mills, said Wednesday that he would be a candidate. 

Troy Jackson, the former state Senate president who ran for governor, also announced Wednesday night he would seek the nomination. His campaign pointed to a recent Public Policy Polling survey that found Jackson leading Collins 49 percent to 44 percent. 

“There is a powerful movement of working class people in the state of Maine, and millions more across America who are ready to send a progressive fighter to the Senate. I’ve been fighting for that movement my whole life — and I’m sure as hell not backing down now, when this fight is needed most,” Jackson said in a statement. “I’m in. And we’re going to defeat Susan Collins. Maine deserves a Senator that will fight for working families.”

DSCC Executive Director Devan Barber said in a statement that the campaign arm would support the new nominee. The group launched a nominee fund to raise money for that candidate.

“The DSCC will work tirelessly to ensure the new Democratic nominee has the infrastructure and resources to immediately turn their focus to the general election, and in November we will defeat Susan Collins and win a Senate majority,” he said in a statement.

But Republicans have suggested they would tie to Platner anyone the party selects to take his place on the ballot. 

“The Democrat candidate in Maine will either be an alleged rapist with a Nazi tattoo, or someone he selects with the same ‘values and vision,’” National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Tim Scott said in a statement Monday. 

Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates Maine’s Senate race Tilt Republican.