Maine’s Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner is betting that voters will send him to Congress on Tuesday, despite a growing collection of controversies that would make most campaign managers reach for the Xanax. The oyster farmer and Marine combat veteran addressed supporters in Bar Harbor for 25 minutes on Friday, acknowledging the recent negative headlines - including a New York Times report in which three former romantic partners described physically intimidating behavior - and claiming they’ve been “weaponized.”
“When hurtful things I said on the internet a decade ago came out into the public, as I shared my personal journey through PTSD and darkness, of recovery and accountability and growth, Maine had my back,” Platner said. “Now, as every single piece of that past and journey gets dug up, litigated and weaponized, you have my back.” The first-time candidate is seeking to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins in November, with Maine’s primary vote looming as Democrats try to retake a majority in Congress for the latter half of Donald Trump’s second presidency.
Platner’s baggage includes a tattoo he once had that is recognized as a Nazi SS symbol - which he has since removed, claiming he didn’t realize its meaning - plus sexually explicit messages he sent to women while married, and an allegation from one woman that he twisted her arm during an argument and locked her in a room, which he denies. Despite all this, he retains support from senior Democrats like Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Ruben Gallego, and was joined at the rally by US House member Ro Khanna, who declared, “We reject, unequivocally, misogyny. But you know who else rejects it? Graham Platner.”
Some Democratic voters at the rally said they’re prepared to overlook Platner’s shortcomings. Galen Lowe told the Portland Press Herald it’s “refreshing to have someone actually own up to stuff that they’ve done.” Meanwhile, former Platner campaign staffer Genevieve McDonald told the Associated Press that the candidate was “sexting multiple women while married” and that the campaign tried to assess that as an election vulnerability. Two feminist political groups, the National Organization for Women Pac and Vote for Equality, have encouraged Maine voters to vote for Governor Janet Mills, who stepped down from the Senate race but remains on the ballot. A source close to Mills told NBC News that “the governor remains on the ballot, and in the wake of this week’s stories, people across Maine are reaching out to tell her they’re voting for her and encouraging her to get fully back into the race.”