Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, said Wednesday night that he was suspending his campaign, two days after a report of an alleged sexual assault nearly five years ago prompted his allies to urge him to step aside. 

Platner, a military veteran, oyster farmer and first-time candidate, launched his campaign against GOP Sen. Susan Collins last August in one of the most competitive U.S. Senate races on the ballot this year. Platner’s unique background and an economic populist platform generated national attention and buzz, but also scrutiny amid a series of controversies and scandals related to his personal life. 

The latest revelations came Monday from Politico, which reported an on-the-record allegation of sexual assault from one of Platner’s ex-girlfriends. Platner and his campaign have repeatedly denied the accusation.

On Wednesday, he tied the report to the deadline of July 13 to remove his name from the ballot and again vehemently denied the accusations against him in an 11-minute video posted on social media site X.

“We are not doing this because of the allegations, we are doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power,” Platner said, noting that suspending his campaign wasn’t an admission of guilt.

In the wake of the bombshell Politico report, several Democrats and groups who had endorsed Platner, including the Maine Democratic Party, Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, rushed to withdraw their endorsements and called on him to drop out of the race. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, perhaps Platner’s highest-profile backer, said Tuesday that he spoke to Platner and “recommended that he step aside.”  

Maine Democrats now have until July 27 to replace Platner on the ballot.

Democrats are already jockeying for the nomination: Maine Beer Company owner Dan Kleban expressed his intention to run on Wednesday. State Rep. Valli Geiger, a top Platner ally, told local media that Platner had pledged to support her candidacy if she ran, which a Platner spokesperson denied. Other Democrats who have publicly expressed interest in the nomination include Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, former Maine CDC director Nirav Shah and Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, all of whom ran in the crowded Democratic primary for governor won by Hannah Pingree, as well as Jordan Wood, who ran in the Democratic primary for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. 

On Tuesday, Jackson filed paperwork for an exploratory committee to run for the Senate seat, the Bangor Daily News reported. Shah also said he was “having conversations” about jumping into the Senate race and called for a “transparent and open process,” adding that candidates should commit to participating in at least one televised debate and to holding multiple town halls.  

As Maine Democrats worked to decide on a process to replace Platner, tensions between the Platner campaign and the state party spilled out into the open, with each party accusing the other of trying to manipulate the process. The party on Wednesday announced that it would hold a nominating convention. 

Platner’s campaign galvanized supporters looking for a fighter to take on Collins, despite some of the controversies surrounding him. 

Last year, Platner was revealed to have gotten a tattoo of a skull-and-crossbones symbol adopted by a Nazi paramilitary unit. He said he was unaware of the symbol’s associations when he got it in Croatia while serving in the military and has since gotten it covered up. He has also apologized for past social media posts on Reddit, including some in which he appeared to blame survivors of sexual assault in the military, saying his most prolific online posting came at a personal low point.

Platner has come under further scrutiny for his relationships with women. Platner’s wife had internally flagged Platner’s sexually explicit texts with other women as a potential liability at the start of his Senate campaign, The Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported in May. Amy Gertner, Platner’s wife, said in a statement to The Times that their marriage is “stronger than ever before” and that she was “deeply hurt” by the former campaign aide she said she confided in. 

And in June, The Times further reported on accounts from some of Platner’s past girlfriends who recounted him displaying sometimes volatile, troubling behavior toward them. Platner acknowledged he was not “a perfect boyfriend” in past relationships, citing his untreated PTSD at the time, but he and his campaign have called the most serious accusations outlined in The Times’ article false and “politically motivated.” 

Up until now, the steady drip of stories hadn’t thwarted his momentum. He became the presumptive Democratic nominee after Gov. Janet Mills, who had been recruited into the race by national Democrats and suspended her Senate campaign in April. He continued to draw donations and large crowds after the publication of prior media coverage.

Jasmine Mithani contributed reporting.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled the Shenna Bellows' given name.