Graham Platner suspends Maine Senate campaign after damning allegations

Embattled Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner announced on Wednesday that he's suspending his campaign.

Platner already faced a series of controversies before winning the Democratic primaries to run against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), but earlier this week, he was accused of sexual assault, which led to endorsements being pulled.

In an eleven-minute video posted by his campaign, he continued to deny what he called "false allegations" that are "being used by the political establishment," he said.

"I think it's really important to understand why [this] is happening in the timeline, why this is happening right now," Platner said. "There's a reason that this is happening now."

Platner had until July 13 to leave the ballot, and he said, "That's why this is occurring," this week.