Graham Platner, the Democratic Senate nominee from Maine, said he was taking time to “reflect” on his political path forward as his support began to erode after reports that a woman had accused him of sexual assault, which he denied.
“Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward,” he said.
It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Platner intended to continue his campaign against Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican. He has until July 13 to withdraw from the race, and if he does the state Democratic Party has until July 27 to replace him on the ticket, according to Maine state law. The leadership of the state party urged him to withdraw.
Both parties see Maine as key to the battle for control of the Senate, and several of Mr. Platner’s supporters withdrew their endorsements of him after the allegations surfaced.
Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who had been one of Platner’s most vocal supporters, called on Platner to drop out of his Senate race. “I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line,” he said. “These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.”
The accusation was made by Jenny Racicot, who said she dated Mr. Platner casually off and on between 2019 and 2021. She told The New York Times this spring about a 2021 incident in which she said he arrived at her house drunk after she had asked him not to come over. At the time, she declined to share further details of that encounter on the record, but she said she found his behavior “reckless” and “unsettling,” and cut off contact soon after that episode.
But in a new interview published in Politico on Monday, Ms. Racicot elaborated on her recollection of that night, saying Mr. Platner let himself into her home, climbed on top of her and kept grabbing her — even after she repeatedly told him to stop. He ignored her protests and followed her into the bedroom, where, she said, he had sex with her against her will.
“I had been telling him these words, like: ‘No, don’t,’” she told Politico.
“And, the look on his face and realizing what was happening, I just realized that, like, I am in a situation where there’s no consent here,” she said.
Ms. Racicot did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Platner called the allegations “troubling, serious, and false,” in the direct-to-camera video.
“Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false,” he said.
His statement came shortly after he had postponed several campaign events.
Senator Collins, who is seen as one of the most vulnerable incumbent Republicans in the Senate, said in a statement that the “allegations are appalling.” But she added that “it is not up to me to choose the Democratic nominee for Senate.”
Several local and national elected officials withdrew their support of Mr. Platner on Monday.
State Senator Mattie Daughtry, a Democrat and the president of the Maine Senate, said in a statement that Mr. Platner should exit the race, describing the allegations against him over the last month as “serious” and saying that “sexual violence has absolutely no place in our society, and it cannot be tolerated from those seeking our highest positions of power.”
Senator Ruben Gallego, a Democrat of Arizona, said in a social media post that he was rescinding his endorsement of Mr. Platner, calling the allegations against him “troubling and deeply serious.”
End Citizens United, an organization that seeks to reduce the role of big money in politics, rescinded its endorsement and called for him to quit his campaign. “The allegations reported today are profoundly disturbing and disqualifying,” said Tiffany Muller, the organization’s president.
And Donna Brazile, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee, suggested in a social media post it was time for Mr. Platner to end his campaign. “Sure, take the rest of the day and night. Tomorrow, we need a plan and Mr. Platner can step aside and focus on his family and well-being,” she wrote on X.
