Graham Platner, the oyster farmer who won the Democratic nomination for Maine‘s Senate seat, formally withdrew from the race on Friday following allegations of sexual assault.Platner’s campaign imploded after allegations that he sexually assaulted a woman five years ago were published on Monday, resulting in the Maine Democrat suspending his campaign on Wednesday. The allegations resulted in partywide calls for Platner to withdraw from the race, including from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), an early supporter of his campaign.“On June 9th, 156,084 Mainers voted for a new kind of politics,” Platner wrote in a letter addressed to Maine’s secretary of state. “People are desperate for change. For this broken system to be righted. For the American experiment to be furthered. Over the past eleven months, thousands and thousands of Mainers poured their hearts, time, and talent into a movement to deliver that vision. I will be forever grateful to them.”“And in submitting this letter today,” he continued, “I seek to further the movement we have built together and the future we believe in. My name may have been on the ballot, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine. As such, please consider this notice as my official withdrawal from consideration for this office.”