Maine Democrat Platner suspends Senate bid after assault allegation
Why it matters: Democrats need Maine to help flip 4 Republican-held seats and retake the Senate in November.
Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner suspended his campaign in Maine on Wednesday, capping a rapid collapse after an ex-girlfriend accused him of entering her home uninvited in 2021 and sexually assaulting her. Platner denied the allegation, but backing from top Democrats disappeared within hours, including support from Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and the national party cut off campaign funding. Platner had emerged as his party’s challenger to Republican Sen. Susan Collins, a five-term incumbent in a state Democrats carried in the 2024 presidential election. His exit leaves Democrats scrambling in a race widely seen as essential to any path back to Senate control.