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Washington — Maine Democratic Senate campaigner Graham Platner announced Wednesday helium is suspending his run aft a pistillate accused him of sexually assaulting her erstwhile they were dating 5 years ago, ending a Senate tally punctuated by idiosyncratic controversies.
Platner announced his determination successful an 11-minute societal media video. He vehemently denied the intersexual battle allegations but said the unit from state-level and nationalist Democrats had made it intolerable for his run to continue.
"I person faced immoderate precise superior allegations, and I conscionable privation to marque it clear, this is each false," helium said. "The things that person been claimed did not happen. It's not real."
Platner said helium plans to record paperwork to retreat from the Senate race. Under authorities law, helium indispensable formally retreat by Monday astatine 5 p.m.
The determination volition disrupt 1 of the astir intimately watched races of this cycle, arsenic Democrats question to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins successful a contention that could find power of the Senate. Under Maine law, the authorities enactment volition person until July 27 to prime a caller nominee.
The enactment said earlier Wednesday it would clasp a nominating convention to take a caller candidate, adding that much details connected the process would travel "soon." The enactment has besides said that Platner volition not person a role. Several high-profile Maine Democrats person expressed interest.
Platner urged the Maine Democratic Party to usage an "open, transparent and democratic" process to regenerate him, and said the determination shouldn't beryllium made by "party apparatchiks."
"My sanction mightiness beryllium connected the ballot close now, but that ballot enactment belongs to the radical of Maine," helium said.
A Maine woman, Jenny Racicot, told Politico and CNN that Platner entered her location without support successful precocious 2021 erstwhile helium was drunk and forced himself connected her, ignoring her demands for him to stop. Racicot said the 2 met connected a dating app successful 2019 and had a casual, consensual narration earlier the nighttime of the alleged assault.
Racicot told CNN's Jake Tapper that Platner, "by dictionary definition, raped me."
Platner called the allegations "categorically false" successful a video soon aft Politico broke the communicative Monday, earlier Racicot's CNN interview. In a statement, his run claimed the allegations were "coached and coordinated by retired of authorities constitution operatives," and said Platner had faced "desperate smears."
Despite his campaign's denial, Platner suggested helium harbored immoderate uncertainty astir the viability of his Senate bid, saying successful a video Monday that helium was assessing the "best mode forward" for his campaign.
The allegations led the Maine Democratic Party to telephone connected Platner to withdraw, on with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who chairs Senate Democrats' run arm, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The DSCC said it would not put successful the contention if Platner remained connected the ballot, and the Senate Majority PAC said successful airy of the allegations, it was redirecting resources distant from the Maine Senate race, severely limiting his campaign's viability going forward.
And a fig of Platner's highest-profile supporters successful Congress — similar Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California and Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona — besides took backmost their endorsements soon aft the communicative became public.
On Tuesday, autarkic Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said helium spoke with Platner and "recommended that helium measurement aside." The connection carried important weight, with Sanders having been a cardinal protagonist of Platner's.
Late Tuesday, with Platner inactive successful the contention and a June 13 deadline to region his sanction from the ballot rapidly approaching, the Maine Democratic Party accused his campaign of trying to "put their thumb connected the scale" and power however a caller nominee is chosen. A Platner spokesperson denied that the run was trying to power the process, but said Platner wanted to guarantee that the determination was made by "voters and volunteers." Some erstwhile Platner allies urged authorities Democratic enactment to regenerate Platner with a chap subordinate of the party's progressive wing.
A 41-year-old seasoned and oyster husbandman from coastal Maine, Platner emerged from obscurity past year, drafting nationwide attraction and enactment from salient progressives similar Sanders. Platner easy won the Democratic Senate superior past month, facing virtually nary large opponents since Gov. Janet Mills withdrew from the race.
But Platner's insurgent run was dogged by a bid of idiosyncratic controversies and allegations astir his behavior. Last year, quality outlets reported connected a bid of problematic posts connected Reddit penned by Platner respective years ago, and Platner acknowledged that helium got a tattoo during his clip successful the Marines that is wide understood to beryllium a Nazi symbol. He has since apologized for his net posts and says helium had the tattoo covered up.
Then, aft Mills dropped her campaign, The Wall Street Journal reported that Platner's woman told the run helium had sent sexually explicit texts to different women portion they were married. Days later, The New York Times reported that women Platner dated had accused him of "unsettling" behavior, including an allegation that helium was "physically threatening," which helium denied.
Platner has said immoderate of the allegations against him stemmed from a "very acheronian play of my beingness wherever I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, excessively often aforesaid medicated with alcohol, and was a acold from cleanable boyfriend."
Some anterior Platner supporters — including his erstwhile governmental manager — suggested helium should driblet retired pursuing the Times' and Journal's reports, fearing the contention could marque it hard for Democrats to win. Collins has represented Maine successful the Senate since 1997, and unseating her has been 1 of Democrats' apical objectives for much than a decade, but the mean GOP legislator has continued to triumph reelection adjacent arsenic Maine becomes progressively Democratic.
Platner told MS NOW past period that "not once" had helium considered dropping retired of the race.
"Amy and I knew aboriginal connected that we were going to instrumentality lumps, and we just, we're dedicated to this," Platner said. "It has ne'er crossed our caput to driblet retired of this thing. I americium afloat committed to this until the end."
This is simply a breaking story; it volition beryllium updated.
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