00:02Democrats are suddenly back to square one in one of the country's most important Senate races.
00:08Graham Plattner suspended his campaign last night while continuing to deny allegations
00:13that he sexually assaulted a woman he was dating five years ago.
00:17In an emotional 11-minute video, Plattner said pressure from Democrats across the country
00:22left him with no path forward.
00:24He accused the, quote, political establishment of forcing him from the race
00:29and said party leaders in Washington should not decide who replaces him.
00:33This is incredibly difficult because I know that some will think it's an admission of guilt,
00:39and it most certainly is not.
00:41We're not doing it because of the allegations.
00:43We're doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power.
00:47And I'm not asking for how this process is going to work.
00:53I'm not trying to dictate to anyone who it should be or how we get there.
00:58But I will say this.
00:59It needs to be open, transparent, and democratic.
01:04It needs to be reflecting the will and the values of the people that built this movement,
01:09the people that showed up on June 9th.
01:13People in D.C. need to stay in D.C.
01:16Decisions should not be made in back rooms by people in places of political power.
01:21Maine is one of the Democrats' best opportunities to flip a Republican Senate seat,
01:26making the search for a new nominee especially urgent as they try to unseat longtime Senator Susan Collins.
01:34Plattner has not yet filed the paperwork to formally withdraw, but he has until Monday at 5 p.m. to
01:39do so.
01:40Democrats would then have until July 27th to choose a replacement.
01:44Several names have been floated, but so far only former State Senate President Troy Jackson has filed paperwork to enter
01:51the race.
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