Graham Platner quits Maine race after rape allegation

Graham Platner has quit the Maine US Senate race after a rape allegation he denies, forcing Democrats to find a replacement candidate in one of their key midterm contests.

Platner, a Marine veteran and political newcomer, had built support among progressive grassroots voters with an anti-establishment campaign. Major Democratic backers abandoned him after the allegation, leaving the party with little time to field a candidate against Republican Senator Susan Collins.

Maine Democrats must name a nominee by late July through a compressed state party process. The replacement will need to appeal both to Platner supporters and to moderates, independents and women voters unsettled by the collapse of his campaign.

The scandal has intensified Democratic debate over how to choose candidates who can channel anger at Washington while withstanding scrutiny in competitive races. Supporters saw Platner as a working-class outsider willing to challenge corporate power, while critics said party activists overlooked serious warning signs.

Before the rape allegation, Platner's campaign had faced scrutiny over incendiary old posts, sexually explicit messages to women early in his marriage, a Nazi-linked tattoo he later covered up and claims that he had mistreated women. Platner has acknowledged past struggles with undiagnosed PTSD and alcohol abuse, but has denied physically harming former partners.