Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner has suspended his campaign, clearing the way for Democrats to select a new candidate to take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the November midterm elections.

Platner’s decision comes after a woman alleged that he raped her while they were in a casual dating relationship nearly five years ago. Platner denies the allegations.

Background

Platner faced a July 13 deadline to withdraw from the ballot. The state Democratic Party will now have two weeks to put forward a replacement candidate.

Maine’s Senate race is critical to Democrats’ hopes of winning a Senate majority in November’s midterm elections. The party needs a net gain of four seats, most of which would have to come through wins in red states.

Potential candidates to replace Platner include Nirav Shah, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, and former state Sen. Troy Jackson.

Dan Kleban, a brewery owner, has formally declared his candidacy for the race. “I believe I can unite our party and finally defeat Susan Collins in November,” Kleban said.

Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.