Scandal-ridden Democrat quits Senate race after rape allegation derails campaign

Mr Platner has said the allegations were "troubling, serious, and false. Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue".

The oyster farmer, who was backed by high-profile left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders, had faced several scandals concerning his romantic life, social media, and a Nazi tattoo.

Mr Platner, a veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, won the nomination for the Democratic Party on June 9, after his only competitor, former Governor of Maine Janet Mills, dropped out of the primary.

He looked set to battle for the Senate seat against incumbent Republican Susan Collins, the longest-serving Republican woman in Congress, but the rape allegation, first published in Politico on Monday, led to widespread calls from within the Democratic party for him to quit the race.

In an 11-minute long video on social media, Mr Platner said the allegations had placed "placed an immense amount of weight" on him, adding that the process for finding a replacement should "come from the people".

He added: "We believe that for the movement to continue, it can’t be me. And for that reason, we are suspending campaign operations.

"We're not doing it because of the allegations; we're doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power."

Maine resident Jenny Racicot, 41, detailed the alleged rape, which happened in 2021 after she matched with Mr Platner on Bumble in 2019 and previously had consensual relations with him.

She alleged the former Senate candidate entered her home, despite her telling him to not come over in a series of text messages.

Mr Platner was "almost blackout drunk" and repeatedly grabbed her even as she told him no, Ms Racicot said.

She said: "I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me.

"I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, 'This is no longer my choice.'"

The oyster man followed her into the bedroom as she separated herself from him, where he raped her, she said.

Ms Racicot said she felt a level of "moral conflict" between her support of Mr Platner's politics and her feelings about him "as a person" in her decision to come forward with the rape allegation.

The Maine Democrat had previously faced allegations from ex-girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield of being regularly grabbed by him in a way which was hard enough to leave marks.

In June, Ms Fifield alleged that Mr Platner had a "warrior ethos" and would often fantasize about raping someone if they threatened his life.

She told the New York Times: "He said this a lot: 'If anybody ever broke in here, I would rape them.'"

"He was like, I would rape them to show them that I’m dominant," she added.

Mr Platner's campaign did not dispute the remarks at the time, but a number of other women and friends described them as out-of-character.

A now-deleted Reddit account, which included comments praising terrorist organisation Hamas' military tactics, that he "become a communist" and criticism of police placed his campaign under scrutiny in May.

He also made a comment on a post about "shorts that prevent you from being raped" which said: "Holy f***, how about people just take some responsibility for themselves and not get so f***ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don't mean to?

"Men and women, you make a choice to consume enough of a substance to lose your self control. So if you don't want to be in a comprising situation, act like an adult for f***s sake."

Mr Platner's campaign was rocked in October as it emerged he had a skull-and-crossbones tattoo resembling the Nazi symbol a Totenkopf which he received while in the military.

The veteran said he was unaware of the Nazi resemblance and "absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that – and to insinuate that I did is disgusting", adding that it had already been covered up.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Sanders said: "I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine. In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside."

He joined a number of other left-wing Democrats who had earlier retracted endorsements, including Representative Ro Khanna, Senator Ruben Gallego and Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Democrats now have until July 27 to find a replacement, with Troy Jackson, who missed out on the Democratic nomination for Governor of Maine, throwing his hat in the ring immediately after Mr Platner suspended his campaign.

More to follow...