Graham Platner abruptly postponed two town hall events scheduled for Monday.

The moves came amid rampant social media speculation that a national news outlet is preparing to publish a harmful report about the political newcomer’s personal history. Later Monday, Politico published allegations from a former girlfriend of Platner’s, Jenny Racicot, who said he sexually assaulted her in 2021.

Platner denied those allegations but said in a video statement that his campaign was weighing its options. The Maine Democratic Party, national party leadership and many of his highest-profile supporters called on Platner to withdraw.

Platner had been scheduled to hold town hall events in Gorham and Sanford on Monday evening. Both of those events were removed from his website Monday morning, and his campaign did not respond to questions about why.

Democrats in Gorham initially said on social media that Platner wasn’t feeling well; that post appeared to have been deleted as of Tuesday morning.

And the Sanford-Springvale Democrats posted a message that said the town hall had been cancaled and “may be rescheduled if he stays in the race, but that is looking less likely now that Maine Dems are calling for him to withdraw.”

Platner had also been scheduled to hold a town hall Sunday in Augusta, but that event was also postponed.

Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer and combat veteran, was nominated by Democrats last month to take on Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, 73.

The race is expected to be one of the most closely watched in the country. Democrats need to flip four seats to control the Senate, and Maine is one of their best opportunities. Collins is the only Senate Republican running in a state won by Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

Platner has weathered damaging allegations throughout his campaign, but Monday’s acknowledgement that his campaign was weighing its options was that first indication that this scandal may be impossible to overcome.

The political newcomer’s grassroots movement helped push out his main rival for the Democratic Senate nomination, Gov. Janet Mills, in late April. And he won the June primary with more than 71% of the vote.

The Wall Street Journal wrote in May about Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, flagging explicit text messages that Platner exchanged with women early in their marriage.

The New York Times then reported on Platner’s “unsettling” behavior described by some ex-girlfriends. One woman, Lindsay Fifield, a conservative who has worked for Republican groups, said Platner was physical with her; she described how he grabbed her by the wrists, shoulders and arm during arguments.

Platner has denied all accusations of physical abuse. But he has spoken about his struggles with alcohol, PTSD and depression after returning from four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has made his healing and transformation a central part of his campaign.

Platner met with several Senate Democrats in D.C. in June and assured them than no credible allegations of assault were forthcoming, the Wall Street Journal reported.