[BREAKING] Graham Platner drops out of Maine Senate race in light of rape accusations

WASHINGTON – Accused rapist Graham Platner dropped out of his Maine Senate race on Wednesday in the wake of explosive sexual assault allegations that forced top Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, to withdraw their support for him.

"We believe that for the movement to continue, it can't be me.

And for that reason we are suspending campaign operations," Platner said in a video announcement.

The announcement comes after a woman he previously dated, Jenny Racicot, publicly alleged that he drunkenly raped her at his Maine home in 2021, despite her repeated pleas for him to stop.

Platner called the accusations false.

Platner had until July 13 to withdraw from the race closely watched by Democrats so he could be easily replaced as the party fights for control of the upper house.

He vehemently denied the rape allegations against him, but canceled his scheduled appearances and said he was contemplating his path forward.

Just hours after the latest claims, Schumer and Sen.

Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) issued a joint statement denouncing Platner.

"The allegations reported today are incredibly disturbing: violence, abuse and sexual assault are absolutely unacceptable," he said.

"Graham Platner needs to immediately withdraw as a Democratic Senate candidate and allow Maine Democrats the opportunity to elect a new candidate who can defeat Susan Collins.

The DSCC [Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee] will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ticket." Throughout his campaign, Platner had survived a steady series of scandals and repeatedly insisted to the public that he had no more skeletons in his closet before more bombs dropped.

He has been accused of sending sexual messages to other women while married, of lying about a Nazi tattoo that had since been removed, and of being unfaithful to his girlfriends and disparaging women.

Maine is widely seen as a race that Democrats must win to regain control of the Senate.

Most Democrats had supported Platner through almost every scandal that arose against Platner, and he still won his primary last month.

But the rape allegations, first reported by Politico, proved to be a death knell for his candidacy.

Racicot described in disturbing detail how Platner, a “nearly passed out drunk,” entered her home without permission one night in 2021 after she texted him that she didn't want to see him.

In graphic detail, she told how she repeatedly rejected him, but he followed her into the bedroom and ejaculated on her.

“And, from the look on his face and realizing what was happening, I realized that I'm in a situation where there is no consent here,” he told Politico.

"One of the reasons I didn't speak out sooner was the enormous moral conflict I had between supporting his politics, but not supporting him as a person," Racicot told the outlet.

"I just want the truth to come out.

I just want people to have a full view of who he is as a person." When asked by CNN if she alleged he raped her, Racicot responded: “By definition, yes, absolutely yes.” Ahead of the July 13 deadline, Democratic operatives rushed to make all information about Platner public as part of an apparent pressure campaign to force him out of the race.

The nonprofit group Reckoning Action, founded by progressive attorney Cheyenne Hunt, contacted Racicot, according to Politico.

Hunt endorsed Platner late last year but backed out after accusations he was harsh on w.

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