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Platner campaign rocked with damning allegations from another ex-lover as Senate race heats up: report

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 20:41:52 -0400

A day after Graham Platner became the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, a woman took to social media to allege that she briefly dated Platner in 2021, recounting stories of having met him on the Tinder dating app, his infidelity and how Platner’s story about his infamous Nazi tattoo had changed over time.

"I am stepping forward as a person who has experienced lying and manipulation by his hand to lend my voice to what is a growing number of women who have been wronged by this man in one way or another," a female streamer with the X handle, 420mercymain69, wrote in a long X statement on Thursday.

"It is hideous," the woman, who claimed she was attracted to Platner's Tinder profile because he was "hot and he was a leftist," said in her X statement.

The new details add another layer to Platner’s allegedly deceptive conduct towards romantic partners and grows the pile of scandals that have trailed his campaign.

SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER SENT EXPLICIT TEXTS TO MULTIPLE WOMEN WHILE MARRIED, WIFE SAYS: REPORT

Platner, who officially became the Democratic nominee to challenge incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, earlier this week, has grappled with his resurfaced past — receiving criticism for making off-color remarks on sexual abuse, race and terror and allegedly threatening behavior toward women.

According to 420mercymain69, a native of Maryland who considered herself a "well-informed leftist," the two of them started talking on Tinder in Feb. 2021 and started dating until mid-July 2021.

When approached about his Totenkopf tattoo, a symbol used by the Nazi SS, the author claims Platner said that he had gotten it in ignorance but that he had kept it as a reminder that the U.S. were "the bad guys" in many parts of the world.

"A sob story of monumental proportions that only further solidified my perception of his ideology," the author remembered.

"But surprisingly enough not the one he gave to the people of Maine," she continued. "And I do mean genuinely surprising because from the moment he announced his campaign, that is exactly what I expected to hear when the truth inevitably came out."

DEMOCRATIC MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER CONFRONTED BY MS NOW HOST ABOUT TATTOO CONTROVERSY

When the tattoo surfaced late last year, he had said he wasn’t familiar with its Nazi associations.

"Graham’s repeatedly said he picked a skull-and-crossbones tattoo off a wall in Croatia to commemorate surviving Ramadi and his friends who were killed there," a spokesperson from the Platner campaign told ӣ��Ƶ. "Graham has also since covered up the tattoo, and answered countless questions about it."

"Unlike Susan Collins, who refuses to take questions on her disastrous vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, gut rural hospitals, and supported every foreign war of the last thirty years," the spokesperson continued.

Aside from the tattoo, 420mercymain69 also accused Platner of several instances of relational infidelity.

Platner and the post’s author parted ways after she discovered from a mutual friend that he was allegedly seeing someone else while the two were still dating.

"He was talking about a woman he had blown it with, saying she was ‘the love of his life.’ I was naïve and probably a little too starry-eyed from my own good, but as a person who had only been on a handful of dates with him and f----- around a bit, I was smart enough to know he wasn’t talking about me," the woman claimed.

"I took the hint," she continued.

She claimed that, after leaving the relationship, she discovered Platner had been engaged to a woman named "Jen" when the two began conversing.

She was also told that Platner was allegedly cheating on her with a third woman.

"She had walked in on him having sex with another person at a wedding they were at in D.C. That mutual friend also advised that he was trying to repair things with this woman and asked me if I was going to seek her out to tell her," she said on X.

In summarizing her experience, which was reportedly confirmed by The New York Post, the author said she did not intend to derail Platner’s campaign, but that she shared concerns about his character. ӣ��Ƶ Digital could not independently confirm the claims from the alleged ex-girlfriend.

PLATNER SUPPORTER KHANNA CALLS SENATE HOPEFUL'S PAST RELATIONSHIPS 'TOXIC,' BUT SAYS HE DESERVES 'REDEMPTION'

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"There will be more information that comes out," she claimed.

"If I were a Maine voter seeing the things I’m seeing, I wouldn’t have voted for him, personal experience notwithstanding, because I do not trust him. Why, after all that has come out, would I?"

"People that I have admired are brushing this off, discounting women's experiences, attacking other journalists,or allowing people in their comment sections to do so. Especially with regard to domestic violence. It is hideous," she concluded.

Biden confidant under fire for Nazi tattoo defense in latest Graham Platner fallout: ‘Disgusting’

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 13:42:54 -0400

Former President Joe Biden's chief of staff, Ron Klain, is facing fierce pushback online after jumping into the growing controversy surrounding Maine Senate Democratic nominee Graham Platner’s Nazi-linked tattoo, attempting to defend and explain away the Democrat’s disputed ink.

"The fact that a Biden WH Chief of Staff Democrat is comfortable downplaying a Nazi tattoo from a different Democrat tells you everything you need to know about today's Democrats," posted Prager University contributor Shabbos Kestenbaum.

Klain sparked a fight with the Republican Jewish Coalition Wednesday when he defended Platner on the group's Instagram post condemning the candidate and calling on Democrats to withdraw their support. Platner has denied the tattoo was intended as a Nazi symbol, even as multiple people familiar with the candidate have identified it as an SS skull-and-crossbones design, which he has since covered.

"This is just a partisan attack," Klain wrote. "The tattoo was a skull and crossbones to remember his fallen comrades from his service in Afghanistan."

GRAHAM PLATNER BLAMES NAZI TATTOO ON MILITARY ‘CULTURE,’ DRAWS BACKLASH FROM GOP VETERANS

Klain served as Biden's chief of staff from 2021 to 2023, before becoming Airbnb’s chief legal officer. He was appointed to serve on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council by Biden in January 2025 before President Donald Trump removed him nearly four months later.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Council is the presidentially appointed board that oversees the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

The exchange ignited a firestorm on social media, where critics argued Klain's defense reflected a broader unwillingness among Democrats to distance themselves from Platner amid the growing controversy.

"Here's former Biden WH Chief of Staff, and @Airbnb Chief Legal Officer, Ron Klain whitewashing Graham Platner's Nazi SS Totenkopf tattoo. This, after hosting a fundraiser for Platner last week. As a former United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council @HolocaustMuseum member, Klain absolutely knows better," RJC posted to X of the exchange.

WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER'S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE

"This is a disgusting lie from Ron Klain and @Airbnb should be deeply concerned someone this dishonest is working for the company in a sensitive role," posted Hudson Institute adjunct fellow Josh Block.

"What has become of us when prominent Jews defend Nazi sympathizers? I am disgusted. Ex-Biden chief Ron Klain defends Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo," wrote former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.

"It was NOT to honor his fallen comrades, which is wildly manipulative lie," wrote Republican communicator Matt Whitlock on X.

SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER SENT EXPLICIT TEXTS TO MULTIPLE WOMEN WHILE MARRIED, WIFE SAYS: REPORT

"You do not have to debase yourself for Platner. Pick your values over partisanship. Focus on other elections. This man is not worth your self-respect," wrote columnist Alex Zeldin.

"Worse: The highest-ranking elected Jewish official in the U.S., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, still endorses Platner and has refused to revoke his support," wrote Antisemitism Watch founder Trish Posner.

Several of Platner’s ex-girlfriends have alleged the embattled nominee referred to his tattoo as "my Totenkopf" because of his belief that his unit shared similarities to the Nazi SS paramilitary forces.

During his victory speech Tuesday, Platner acknowledged the controversy that has followed him while on the campaign trail.

"Redemption is not just some simple or easy destination. It's a journey. I've made mistakes in my life, mistakes that I regret, that I live with, that I continue to learn from and I'm still far from perfect," said Platner. "But every day I wake up and I try to be a little bit better and a little bit kinder than I was the day before and if you give me the chance, I will be a senator for the people who cannot afford to buy a senator."

A string of controversies have followed Platner as he eyes to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

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In the heat of the primary race, Reddit posts surfaced detailing his past inflammatory comments, while he was also accused of physical misconduct, including aggressive behavior, with a former romantic partner. Platner denied those accusations.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to Ron Klain, Airbnb and Graham Platner for comment.

MORNING GLORY: The GOP’s choice in 2028 — more of MAGA or a reversion to the mean?

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 05:00:47 -0400

Since the triumphant return of President Trump in November 2024 — and it was a triumph, with Trump winning all seven swing states and the popular vote — the Democrats have reacted by lurching hard left, electing a radical mayor in New York City, attempting to take purple Virginia far left with a crazy gerrymandered Congressional map (which was struck down by the state’s Supreme Court as unconstitutional) and, on Tuesday, nominating radical (and deeply troubled) Graham Platner as their candidate in Maine to face off against the moderate and widely admired Sen. Susan Collins, chair of the Senate’s powerful Appropriations Committee.

Radical candidates are expected to emerge as the party’s Senate nominees in Michigan and Minnesota as well. The Democratic Socialists of America's hostile takeover over the shattered glass of the Democratic Party seems inevitable.

With the Democrats at best in an internal civil war between socialists and far-left liberals, which way will a post-President Trump GOP turn?

DOUG SCHOEN: DEMOCRATIC BATTLE PITS MODERATES VS. PROGRESSIVES FOR SOUL OF THE PARTY

The frontrunner for party leader and 2028 nominee has to be considered to be Vice President JD Vance, but sitting veeps don’t just accept the nomination save for extraordinary circumstances such as the Democrats faced in 2024 when Vice President Harris was handed the nomination when the physical and mental infirmities of President Joe Biden became too obvious to ignore.

Looking back to 1988, there is sitting Vice President George H.W. Bush, who had to fight off Sen. Robert Dole for the GOP nomination in 1988. Four years earlier, former Vice President Walters Mondale had to withstand a challenge from Sen. Gary Hart. More recently, sitting VP Al Gore didn’t just get handed the nomination after loyal service as President Bill Clinton’s No. 2. He had to face and defeat Senator Bill Bradley to get the Democratic nomination in 2000.

The rule, then, is that vice presidents have to fight through primaries to win their parties’ nominations for president, and the exception to that rule is Kamala Harris. Look how that turned out. Parties emerge stronger when their primaries are contested.

So, even if Vice President Vance seeks the office President Trump holds, he has to expect a challenge in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and beyond. While it is widely expected that President Trump will endorse his hand-picked No. 2, 2027’s debates — and there should be many — and 2028’s caucuses and primaries should be boisterous affairs as the "era of Trump" winds down.

VANCE IN 'CATBIRD SEAT' FOR 2028 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION, BUT THESE REPUBLICANS MAY ALSO RUN

President Trump and his message of "Make America Great Again" has dominated the Republican Party since the summer of 2015, when Trump methodically took down every Republican opponent in a crowded field, one by one. Trump swept aside all challengers from within the GOP in 2024, choosing not even to appear on debate stages with them.

There will be no such dominating figure for the Republican race ahead in 2028. Most GOP observers expect at least four contenders not named Vance. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is poised for a second run. Georgia’s popular incumbent governor, Brian Kemp, and Virginia’s former governor, Glenn Youngkin, are widely tipped to be setting up their campaigns.

Former Secretary of State and Director of the CIA in President Trump’s first term Mike Pompeo is expected to join the field as well and brings along his career as a stellar West Point and Harvard Law School graduate and years in Congress as a member from Kansas.

That’s just the obvious quartet of challengers to Vance, and then there are the talented and ambitious senators like Texas’ Ted Cruz and Pennsylvania’s David McCormick. Suddenly, we have seven very qualified candidates debating about the future of the country, and that doesn’t include members of the president’s Cabinet who have run before and might again: Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.

President Trump may endorse and throw his considerable political weight behind VP Vance or Secretary Rubio or somebody else. Nobody knows, and it’s doubtful the president himself knows. He’s said a few times that a Vance-Rubio ticket would be formidable, and it would be.

What it isn’t is "inevitable." GOP primary voters don’t have to begin actually casting votes until January 2028. Will they want a "reversion to the mean" of GOP politics and issues? Will they want a candidate who can endorse what President Trump has done in every aspect or one who picks and chooses the Trump record?

There will certainly be an opening night slot for President Trump when the GOP convention gathers in whatever city President Trump designates. His energy will be needed by whomever the nominee is, as there are millions of voters who are three-time Trump voters who wished the Constitution didn’t prohibit a fourth chance to vote for him.

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Parties are, however, an enduring staple of American political life. They evolve and change, and the GOP of 2028 will be radically different from that of 2000, 2012 and even 2024. Its voters may want a change in style or substance or both. As the Democrats hurtle themselves off the left edge of the American political spectrum with increasingly anti-American, anti-free market radicals, Republicans may very well collectively decide to move toward the rhetoric and style of the broad middle of the American temperament and more traditional conservative political positions.

The muffled sound you hear is of GOP presidential campaigns getting organized. We see the obvious positioning among the Democrats, from Kamala Harris to Congressman Ro Khanna and Sen. Chris Murphy. They can afford to be obvious and out there.

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Republicans must be far more discrete in their first steps as it’s President Trump’s party now. But as the clock winds down on his second term, every Republican office holder from the Senate to city councils across the land has a stake in nominating a winner in 2028. The GOP’s games won’t begin until the World Cup's are over and probably not until December of this year.

But they will commence before year’s end, and it will be the most interesting primary season since 2016, and that one was an upheaval, a political earthquake that changed American politics for a dozen years. Maybe the Republicans will be in a mood seeking the middle ground. Maybe.

Hugh Hewitt is a ӣ��Ƶ contributor and host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show" heard weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. ET on the Salem Radio Network and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh drives Americans home on the East Coast and to lunch on the West Coast on over 400 affiliates nationwide and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the ӣ��Ƶ Channel’s news roundtable, hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6 p.m. ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996, where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests, from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcasting. This column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.

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'The View' co-hosts battle over Graham Platner after scandal-plagued Dem wins Maine primary

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 17:54:20 -0400

After Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner won the state's Democratic primary on Tuesday, the co-hosts of "The View" locked horns on Wednesday over whether to set aside concerns about his multiple controversies and support him.

"When you show me you have so much hate in your heart, that you can literally wipe off full groups of people and you name it, fill in the blank, he has, that Nazi tattoo that he supposedly has covered up and said he didn’t know what it meant, but many ex-girlfriends said he used to proudly call it what it is, a Totenkopf, which is a Nazi symbol," co-host Sara Haines said. "He has shown us who he is."

"This is the party of MeToo. Women have made accusations," she continued. "They have not been proven yet, but weren’t we supposed to listen and hear them? Literally we are in a time of antisemitism. The numbers of antisemitic hate and this guy proudly wore a tattoo for years, all the things he’s shown us and we’re going to say, well this time because we might agree with his policy we can turn our heads. I cannot turn my head, and I hope other people will join me."

Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin said, "He also mocked wounded veterans, he has a bunch of homophobic slurs that have emerged online. The track record is really bad."

'THE VIEW' ERUPTS AFTER HOSTIN DECLARES 'I WOULD HOLD MY NOSE' AND VOTE FOR SCANDAL-PLAGUED GRAHAM PLATNER

"I know his accuser — I’ve known her for over a decade — who spoke to The New York Times," Griffin continued. "I believe her. I believe it’s very credible what she’s accused him of. He denies it, but we have to care."

Griffin concluded that just because Democrats don’t approve of the current administration doesn’t mean they should engage in a "race to the bottom."

Meanwhile, co-host Sunny Hostin, who proclaimed last week "I would hold my nose" to vote for Platner if she lived in Maine, doubled down on her support.

"I don’t think Republicans, at this point, can ask us to take the moral high ground," she argued. "That is over at this point. I’m sorry."

Hostin went on to urge Democrats to "put emotions on the side, let’s be strategic, let’s get some power, let’s take over the Senate, let’s take over the House and let’s right the ship. Let’s get our country back."

"I am sorry, I am someone that believes in character, I am someone that believes that morals matter," she concluded. "But because of the state of this country, I would — if I lived in Maine I would hold my nose and I would vote for Platner. I would."

‘HE HATED WOMEN’: EXPLOSIVE ABUSE, NEW NAZI TATTOO ALLEGATIONS FROM EXES ROCK PLATNER'S CAMPAIGN

Platner, a military combat veteran and oyster farmer who is backed by progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., defeated two long-shot rivals in Maine's Democratic Senate primary.

Platner has been playing defense the past month, amid multiple controversies, including inflammatory online comments made on Reddit, a well-publicized and now-covered-up tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol, recent reports that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women while married, and new allegations last week from ex-girlfriends of a history of rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent episodes.

Platner has called the allegations of violence untrue.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to Platner’s campaign but did not immediately receive a response.

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ӣ��Ƶ’ Paul Steinhauser and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

Graham Platner finally embraced by powerful mainstream Dem leaders after primary election victory

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:49:38 -0400

Two top Democrat leaders who were hesitant to endorse embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner by name amid his controversies finally relented Tuesday night after he cruised to victory in his primary election.

House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., issued a seemingly half-hearted joint statement backing Platner as he continues to face heat stemming from a multitude of scandals.

"Over the past year, we have created a path to win a Democratic Senate majority and put a stop to the chaos and damage of the Trump administration by defeating the Republicans who enable his harmful agenda," they wrote in a statement issued by the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) just after Platner was declared the winner.

"In November, Maine voters will elect Graham Platner, and we will win a Senate majority," they concluded.

In the statement, the New York lawmakers attempted to paint moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, as a radical pro-Trump Republican despite her several breaks with the president.

"Susan Collins has never been more vulnerable after she voted with Trump 96 percent of the time, confirmed his far-right judicial nominees, and took millions from special interests while voting to rip health care away from Mainers," they listed.

SCANDAL-PLAGUED PLATNER CAPTURES DEMOCRATIC SENATE NOMINATION

Last week, Platner met with Gillibrand and Schumer, among other Democrats, during a crisis trip to Washington, D.C., in the midst of his latest scandal, which, at the time, was related to revelations of an account on a controversial messaging app.

After that meeting, Gillibrand refused to say whether she still supported the progressive candidate.

"I'm very confident we are going to win Maine," she told reporters. "I do. I have confidence that we are going to win Maine and I have no doubt."

WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER'S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE

Schumer also attempted to duck direct questions from reporters at a Capitol Hill press conference following that meeting.

"I met with Graham Platner today, we're going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate," he said. "We’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate."

After he was asked for the fifth time about the meetings, he begrudgingly used Platner's name to back the candidate.

WATCH: SCANDAL-PLAGUED PLATNER DODGES QUESTIONS BEFORE DC MEETING WITH DEMOCRATS

"As I said, I endorsed Graham Platner," he said.

Before that meeting, Platner was embroiled in controversy after it was revealed that he has an active account on Kik, an anonymous chatting platform notorious for lax identification methods that have enabled the proliferation of child sexual abuse material.

Platner used as his profile image on the application a sexually suggestive photo of himself shirtless and wearing only a towel around his waist.

Just days after the meetings in D.C., the candidate was accused of physical misconduct, including aggressive behavior, with a former romantic partner. Platner denies those accusations.

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Platner's previous scandals include sexually lewd Reddit posts, disrespectful comments made against a Purple Heart-winning combat veteran, a Nazi-linked tattoo on his chest that has since been covered up and reports he exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women while married.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital's Peter Pinedo contributed to this report.

Republicans fear of 'fatal mistake' in must-win Platner race

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 15:08:31 -0400

Senate Republicans are warning that scandal-plagued oysterman Graham Platner could still defeat Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, if the party fails to take the race seriously.

Republicans are defending several seats in expectedly close races, including Nebraska, Iowa, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas, while seeking to flip Georgia. Maine is different: Sen. Susan Collins' seat is the only Republican-held Senate seat in a state won by Kamala Harris in 2024, making it Democrats' most direct path to returning Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., to the majority leader's office, Republicans said in a memo circulated Wednesday.

"It is a fatal mistake to assume Platner is too damaged to win," the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) memo obtained by ӣ��Ƶ — addressed to "Interested Parties" — read.

The NRSC agreed that Maine is the "linchpin" of the 35 seats up this year and that despite Platner’s Nazi tattoo, allegations of misogynist violence, arousal from biocide in port-a-johns, and his socialist policy platform, he remains a credible threat to the middle-of-the-road Collins.

SEE IT: MAINE VOTERS SOUND OFF ON PLATNER'S DIVISIVE CAMPAIGN AS CRUCIAL PRIMARY NEARS: 'HE'S A DISGRACE'

"Senator Collins has won tough races before and can win this one, but only if we meet this moment with total urgency," the NRSC said.

"Because Democrats cannot win the majority without [Collins’ seat], they have fully rallied around Graham Platner, an extremely flawed, far-left candidate who secured the nomination last night. Platner has captured his party’s financial backing, outraising Senator Collins in every quarter since entering the race. We must match both the energy and the money to retain the seat," the memo said.

The NRSC said Democrats don’t view Platner’s race as being about the flawed candidate but rather about usurping power.

COLLINS SECURES GOP NOD IN MAINE SENATE BATTLE THAT COULD DECIDE GOP MAJORITY

The committee said any one of Platner’s multiple scandals would have ended most campaigns, but Democrats remain united around him. The NRSC reported that after former girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield’s allegations against Platner broke, Platner raised $200,000 in one day in what the campaign said was its best haul of the cycle.

"The political fundamentals in Maine remain challenging, and it is a fatal mistake to assume Platner is too damaged to win," the NRSC said.

Collins is the last remaining federal Republican in New England and the only Republican in the Senate north or east of Pennsylvania.

The NRSC reported that Platner is beating Harris’ own margins by seven points while noting Collins has won tough races in the past, but this one is different.

Collins won her last race against former Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon by about eight points, and her last electoral loss was way back in 1994 when now-Sen. Angus King Jr., I-Maine, won the governorship in a four-way contest.

Republicans said in the memo that the biggest story in the past week about Platner is not his latest scandal, but the fact that Democrats are circling the wagons around him even more tightly and "propping him up."

WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER'S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE

They cited Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna visiting Maine to hold a gushy interview-slash-ad with Platner and the fact that Democrats keep claiming Collins and Trump are worse than the left-winger.

"Gotta do what you gotta do," the NRSC quoted former Biden deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty, while noting that Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse publicly claimed Platner’s foibles are a "lot of nothing."

They also pointed to one of the most influential Democratic operatives claiming that Platner’s flaws actually bolster his qualifications.

Platner had disparaged former Pennsylvania lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Teddy Daniels after video of the Purple Heart recipient being besieged and gravely wounded by the Taliban surfaced several years ago.

"We’ve got a f---ed up guy who could be 100 times more f---ed up than he is and he’d never be as f---ed up as what we’ve got in Washington," said 1992 Bill Clinton campaign architect James Carville, who suggested that Platner’s apparent PTSD should be a symbol on the Hill as to why neoconservatives have been wrong about war powers.

"This is not a party abandoning its nominee. This is a party rationalizing, accepting, and preparing to fight," the NRSC said.

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"Republicans need to match that urgency immediately. Define Platner. Defend Collins. Resource Maine," they said. "Senator Collins has proven time and time again, through her work ethic and commitment to the people of Maine and America, that she will prevail."

"This race can be won, but it will not win itself."

NRSC national press secretary Bernadette Breslin exclusively told ӣ��Ƶ Digital that Platner "has become the new face of the Democratic Party, forcing Democrats to own his mounting scandals and socialist wish list."

"Come November, Mainers will see through his fraudulent working-class persona and reject the political baggage Democrats are now stuck defending," Breslin said.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to the DSCC, Platner campaign and Collins campaign for further comment.

Purple Heart recipient mocked by Platner says PTSD does not excuse 'abhorrent behavior'

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 14:09:14 -0400

A Purple Heart recipient wounded in Afghanistan is speaking out after Reddit comments linked to Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner resurfaced, saying PTSD does not excuse mocking a wounded American service member.

Speaking on "The Ingraham Angle," Pfc. Ted Daniels, who received a Purple Heart after surviving a Taliban attack, pushed back against efforts to explain Platner's comments by citing PTSD.

"Right now it appears that Graham Platner is the poster child for people who suffer with PTSD, and it's an embarrassment to veterans, to first responders, to sexual assault victims, to everybody who deals with it," Daniels said Tuesday.

The controversy began after a Reddit comment linked to Platner resurfaced. The comment referred to a helmet-cam video of Daniels fighting Taliban operatives in 2012 before he was shot four times.

COMBAT VETERAN NEARLY KILLED BY TALIBAN FIRES BACK AT PLATNER’S DELETED ONLINE ATTACK: ‘YOU’RE A COWARD’

The Reddit account "P-Hustle," linked to Platner, posted, "Dumb motherf-----didn't deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat a-- wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt. Poor marksmanship on the Taliban's part is the only reason this mouthbreather made it home, he managed to make every possible s--- decision possible when it comes to small unit combat."

The post was deleted but remains available in the Maine Monitor's archive of Reddit posts attributed to Platner, a former U.S. Marine who served three combat tours in Iraq and a fourth in Afghanistan with the Maryland Army National Guard.

But Daniels said Platner's past does not excuse the comments.

WATCH: PURPLE HEART VETERAN REACTS TO PLATNER'S REFUSAL TO APOLOGIZE FOR MOCKING HIM, SHREDS PTSD EXCUSE

"I can empathize with the fact that I'm sure he has PTSD. What I cannot do is excuse that for his poor decisions in life and abhorrent behavior," Daniels said.

Daniels added that since the comments surfaced, he has not heard from Platner or received an apology from his team. Daniels, however, said he believes there are other people Platner needs to apologize to first.

"I don't need an apology. Who deserves the apology is every Gold Star family out there who lost a loved one in combat because people like Graham Platner are online cheering for their death," Daniels said.

Platner addressed criticism of his past online posts in a video posted to X in October 2025, saying, "As I read through them, I read things that I absolutely do not agree with. I read through and I see things, words and statements that I abhor."

PLATNER CALLED PTSD EXCUSE 'BULL----' IN 2020 POST, NOW CITES HIS OWN STRUGGLE TO EXPLAIN ONLINE CONTROVERSIES

"I had PTSD. I had depression. I had all of the things that come with serving in a war, in two wars, that I eventually began to not believe in at all. It left me feeling very unmoored. It left me feeling very disillusioned, very alienated and very isolated. And I think like a lot of people, I went on the internet to post stupid things and get in fights and find some form of community in some way, some outlet for my feelings, for my rage, for my isolation," he later added.

Platner recently won Maine's Democratic Senate primary and will face GOP Sen. Susan Collins in November.

He has also faced criticism over allegations involving sexting with multiple women during his marriage and a tattoo that resembles a Nazi symbol.

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Platner said he got the tattoo during a "night of drinking" while on leave in Croatia and was unaware of its meaning at the time.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to Platner's campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

Top takeaways from the primary elections in Maine and South Carolina: 'Movement about us'

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 04:00:36 -0400

BLUE HILL, Maine - Graham Platner, the progressive left, and Donald Trump appear to be the big winners in Tuesday's high-profile primaries in Maine and South Carolina.

Platner, the oyster farmer and military combat veteran who has been facing plenty of incoming fire amid mounting controversies, cruised to the Democratic nomination Tuesday in left-leaning Maine and will now face longtime moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a key race that is among a handful which will likely determine if Republicans hold their Senate majority in the midterm elections.

Meanwhile, in solidly red South Carolina, Trump-backed Sen. Lindsey Graham won a majority of the vote in the Senate GOP primary and will avoid a runoff against a primary challenger from the right.

And the candidate the president endorsed in the state's Republican gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, finished on top of a crowded field of contenders and will advance to a runoff election in two weeks against longtime South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who came in second.

Here's what we learned in the key June 9th primaries.

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The left storms back

The convincing victory by Platner, who was backed by progressive champions Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Rep. Ro Khanna of California, looks to be another feather in the cap for the left in their intra-party face-off with the establishment.

The primary in Maine was held a week after Iowa state Rep. John Turek, who was supported by longtime Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, won the Democratic Senate primary and will face Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson in another crucial midterm showdown.

Turek, a wheelchair basketball player who won two Paralympic gold medals, defeated the more progressive candidate, state Sen. Zach Wahls. The divisive and expensive primary battle was viewed as a proxy war between the establishment and anti-establishment wings of the party.

Fast-forward a week and the ballot box performance by Platner, who promotes an economically populist agenda as he takes aim at corporate influences and advocates for the working class, gives a boost to the left.

"The Democratic establishment and powerful interests spent months trying to stop Graham Platner. Instead, they demonstrated that voters in Maine and across America want to elect shake-up-the-system outsiders," Progressive Change Campaign Committee co-founder Adam Green emphasized.

And Green warned that Platner's victory "should be a wake-up call for a Democratic establishment that has spent too long underestimating the appeal of economic populism and outsider politics."

EMBATTLED PLATNER WINS DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY TO TEE UP CRUCIAL MIDTERM SHOWDOWN

What controversies?

Platner in recent weeks has been facing one of the roughest stretches of his bid for the U.S. Senate.

The candidate has been playing defense the past month, amid multiple controversies. They include inflammatory online comments made on Reddit, a well-publicized and now covered-up tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol, recent reports that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women while married, and new allegations last week from ex-girlfriends of a history of rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent episodes. Platner has called the latest allegations of violence untrue.

On Monday, a day before the primary election, a former high-level staffer from the Platner campaign wrote in the Washington Post that Platner "is not someone who would be good for Maine or for the country."

While the mounting controversies triggered some Democrats in the nation's capital to question whether Platner was damaged goods and needed to be replaced, the candidate this past weekend thanked Maine voters for continuing to support him.

"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 at a rally Friday not far from his hometown in Down East Maine. "Now, as every single piece of that past and journey gets dug up, litigated, and weaponized, you have my back. And when politically motivated, serious and false accusations are made against me. Maine, you have my back."

THE GROWING LIST OF CONTROVERSIES THREATENING DEMOCRAT GRAHAM PLATNER'S MAINE SENATE BID

And voters in Maine's Democratic Senate primary seemed to shrug off the controversies.

"In trying so hard to understand me, they failed to understand that this is not about me at all," Platner said in his victory speech as he dismissed news reports about his past misdeeds as immaterial to the Senate election.

"This is a movement about us, about the far too many working far too hard and struggling far too much."

Trump has a big night

The president wasn't on the ballot in South Carolina, but he had plenty on the line in the GOP Senate and gubernatorial primaries.

One week after Trump's endorsement-winning streak in high-profile Republican primaries was snapped, the president's immense clout over the GOP was on the line again, this time in South Carolina.

And the president easily passed the test.

The candidate Trump endorsed in the Palmetto State's GOP gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, finished first in a crowded field of candidates and clinched one of the two tickets in the race for the nomination.

TRUMP ALLY LINDSEY GRAHAM SURVIVES CHALLENGE FROM GOP'S ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT WING

Evette, who repeatedly spotlighted Trump's support, now advances to a Republican runoff election in two weeks against South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, the second place finisher, in the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Henry McMaster.

Since no candidate topped 50% of the primary vote to land a majority, Evette and Wilson will battle for the nomination in the June 23 runoff, and the winner will be considered the clear favorite in the general election in the solidly red southeastern state.

Meanwhile, in the South Carolina GOP Senate primary, longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham did win a majority of the vote, and will avoid a runoff, the Associated Press reported.

Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who took aim at the senator over his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was backed by some MAGA leaders who have been critical of the president.

Graham's campaign and allied political groups spent nearly $20 million to highlight Trump's support. And the president joined Graham and Evette for a primary eve tele-rally.

The brute force of the president's endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past month, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas that grabbed plenty of national attention.

But his 11th-hour endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa a week and a half ago — which came on the same day he also backed Evette — in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn't enough to muscle the three-term congressman to victory.

Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

In the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, the major contenders had long been highlighting their support for Trump and his agenda, in hopes of landing his support.

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Trump, after staying neutral for months, endorsed Evette, praising her as an "America First Patriot" and a "WINNER" in his announcement.

In her primary night speech, Evette thanks the president and touted that she's a "Trump-endorsed businesswoman and conservative who's going to take the fight to the radical left."

Scandal-plagued Platner captures Democratic Senate nomination

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 21:27:04 -0400

BLUE HILL, Maine — He's been facing one of the roughest stretches of his bid for the U.S. Senate, but Graham Platner on Tuesday captured the Democratic Party's Senate nomination.

Platner, a military combat veteran and oyster farmer who is backed by progressive champions Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Rep. Ro Khanna of California, defeated two longshot rivals in Maine's Democratic Senate primary, the Associated Press reports.

"Susan Collins said she would only serve two terms, she's now running for her sixth," Platner told the crowd at the Blue Hill YMCA after he was declared the winner.

"She has worked in politics longer than Joe Biden," Platner said, positioning his campaign as a rebuke to the political establishment of both parties. "The truth is, Susan Collins doesn't serve us. She serves Donald Trump. She serves the Epstein class."

The embattled Platner, who is facing numerous controversies, will now challenge moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who was unopposed for the GOP nomination, in left-leaning Maine in this year's midterm elections. The race is one of a handful across the country that will determine whether the GOP keeps control of its slim Senate majority.

THE TEN RACES THAT WILL DETERMINE THE SENATE'S MAJORITY

Platner, who advocates an economically populist agenda as he takes aim at corporate influences and advocates for the working class, also topped two-term Democratic Gov. Janet Mills in the primary. The governor's name remained on the ballot even though Mills, who had been backed by longtime Democratic Senate Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats' campaign arm, suspended her bid earlier this spring after significantly trailing Platner in fundraising and polling.

"We’re going to win in November and we’re going to take power back for the people in this country," Platner predicted Sunday night, at his final rally ahead of the primary.

Platner has been playing defense the past month, amid multiple controversies. They include inflammatory online comments made on Reddit, a well-publicized and now covered-up tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol, recent reports that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women while married, and new allegations last week from ex-girlfriends of a history of rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent episodes. Platner has called the latest allegations of violence untrue.

On Monday, a day before the primary election, a former high-level staffer from the Planter campaign wrote in the Washington Post that Platner "is not someone who would be good for Maine or for the country."

While the mounting controversies triggered some Democrats in the nation's capital to question whether Platner was damaged goods, the candidate this past weekend thanked Maine voters for continuing to support him.

PLATNER TO SUPPORTERS: 'MAINE, YOU HAVE MY BACK'

Platner, who has acknowledged his battle with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from his three tours of duty in the war in Iraq with the Marines and one tour with the Army National Guard in Afghanistan, apologized for his controversial Reddit posts after some of them made headlines last fall soon after he launched his Senate campaign.

And Platner has said he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007 while drinking with fellow Marines stationed in Croatia. He said that he covered up the tattoo with a new design after learning last year that it resembled a Nazi symbol. But new allegations from an ex-girlfriend raise questions about Platner's timeline regarding knowledge of the tattoo.

Khanna, who organized Friday's rally with Platner, was asked by ӣ��Ƶ Digital whether he's concerned if the current allegations, and any potential future ones, could sink Platner's campaign and hurt Democrats' hopes of winning back the Senate.

"I’m more concerned about making it clear that we’re opposed to misogyny, those relationships were toxic and volatile, there’s no excuse for that," Khanna said. "I talked to Graham and he says he was at a very dark period, he had come back from two tours of duty in Iraq as an infantryman seeing violence and death. That doesn’t excuse it."

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But Khanna added that Platner said "he really grew as a person when he came back to Maine and he was an oyster farmer and he found peace and he is ashamed of that period. To me that suggests someone taking accountability and improving their lives and we need that redemption in this country. And I agree with a lot of his economic policies, that we should be taxing the billionaires, we should be focusing on the working class."

In his speech on Tuesday night, Platner attempted to frame himself as a changed man.

"If you believe, as I do, that we can change our politics and change our country, then you must also believe that people can change," Platner told the crowd. "And the reason I believe that is because I have lived it. And the reason that I have lived it is because of my wife."

Maine voters ӣ��Ƶ reporters spoke with ahead of the rally were divided on whether Platner's controversies would impact their opinions of the candidate.

Jeff from Waterboro, Maine said "it's not a good situation" as he pointed to Platner. "I think it's somebody who shouldn't be in the mix. I am a conservative, but he's just got so much damage, if the Democrats want to have a winner, they're going to have to find somebody else. He's not the guy. It's just too much."

Ellen from Acton, Maine, who said she is a registered Republican, said, "Is he a perfect person? Heck no."

But she added, "I think he will go in and do a good job."

Collins, returning to Maine on Friday after a busy week on Capitol Hill where she reached a milestone by casting her 10,000th consecutive vote in the Senate, was asked by reporters about the latest allegations facing Platner.

"The allegations in the latest story are troubling," Collins responded. "And I believe that Graham Platner has a lot of questions to answer."

SEE IT: DEM SENATORS DODGE ON BACKING PLATNER AS MAINE CANDIDATE’S SCANDAL CLOUDS FINAL DAYS BEFORE PRIMARY

Platner is facing plenty of incoming political fire from Republican groups, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) who released a scathing statement after Platner's primary victory.

"Today marks the beginning of the end for Graham Platner," NRSC Chair Sen. Tim Scott posted on X. "He will be exposed, his agenda destroyed, and Mainers will reject him. No amount of DC Democrat support or left-wing billionaire backing will save him. The choice in Maine is clear and nothing will be taken for granted."

And the Republican National Committee (RNC) also targeted Platner.

"Graham Platner says his violent and erratic past is being 'weaponized' against him. Platner said he would rape someone to show his dominance and 'rape was about power,'" the RNC research team recently wrote on X, pointing to the latest allegations against the candidate.

Despite the allegations and the incoming fire from the GOP, no Democratic politicians who have backed Platner have rescinded their endorsements.

"We need to unite and realize that the goal is defeating Susan Collins. And everyone from Schumer to Sanders is unified around that goal," Khanna told ӣ��Ƶ Digital.

Platner has drawn large crowds and built a healthy fundraising war chest, and Democrats see Maine as a crucial pickup opportunity as they aim to win back the Senate majority.

But beating Collins won't be easy. Six years ago, public opinion polls indicated the senator was headed to defeat, but Collins defied expectations and won re-election by topping then-Democratic state House Speaker Sara Gideon by nine points.

Collins, a moderate Republican who at times votes against President Donald Trump's agenda, is running for a sixth six-year term in the Senate.

The senator voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, in 2021 soon after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. And early last year she opposed the confirmation of now-Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

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But she is also remembered for her 2018 vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, which eventually helped the court's conservative majority overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling which had legalized abortion nationwide.

Bernie Sanders dodges questions about abuse allegations facing Maine Senate candidate Platner

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 20:22:27 -0400

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., dodged a series of questions Tuesday about abuse allegations facing Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, offering no response when ӣ��Ƶ Digital asked whether he believed the women accusing the candidate of misconduct.

As Sanders waited for an elevator at the Capitol, ӣ��Ƶ Digital asked whether he believed the allegations against Platner, whom the senator has previously campaigned for and continues to support. Sanders did not respond.

THE GROWING LIST OF CONTROVERSIES THREATENING DEMOCRAT GRAHAM PLATNER'S MAINE SENATE BID

"Senator, do you believe the women accusing Platner of abuse?" ӣ��Ƶ Digital asked. "You were campaigning for him recently, so I was wondering what you think about the allegations made against him."

Sanders also declined to answer questions about allegations that Platner knew about a Nazi-linked tattoo that has become part of the controversy surrounding his campaign.

"About the women saying he knew that he had a Nazi tattoo? You have nothing to say about the scandal?" ӣ��Ƶ Digital asked. Sanders continued waiting for the elevator without responding.

FETTERMAN REFUSES TO DEFEND PLATNER, CALLS HIM "BAGGAGE" AS SCANDALS MOUNT

The questions come as Platner faces mounting scrutiny over a series of controversies that have rocked his Senate campaign.

The Maine Democrat has been accused by multiple women of abusive behavior and has faced criticism over sexually explicit messages, offensive social media posts and allegations involving a Nazi-linked tattoo. Platner has denied wrongdoing and defended himself against the allegations.

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Despite the backlash, Platner has continued to receive support from several high-profile Democrats, including Sanders, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Whether the controversies surrounding Platner will affect voters remains to be seen. Maine Democrats headed to the polls Tuesday to determine who will face Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in November in one of the nation's most closely watched Senate races.

Polls close in Maine as Democrats weigh controversial Senate candidate Graham Platner

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:00:59 -0400

Polls have closed in Maine, which along with South Carolina, Nebraska and North Dakota are holding primary elections on Tuesday.

And the race grabbing the biggest national spotlight is in Maine, where it's judgment day for Graham Platner, the embattled Democratic Senate candidate in left-leaning Maine who is aiming to oust longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a crucial race that's among a handful that will determine if the GOP holds its slim Senate majority in the midterm elections.

Platner, an oyster farmer and military combat veteran who is backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and other top progressive champions, is facing a slew of controversies, which could make his expected Democratic primary victory in Maine much more interesting than originally expected.

Meanwhile, one week after President Donald Trump's endorsement-winning streak in high-profile Republican primaries was snapped, the president's immense clout over his party is facing another key test in South Carolina's GOP gubernatorial and Senate nomination races.

PLATNER TO SUPPORTERS: 'MAINE, YOU HAVE MY BACK'

Platner has been playing defense for the past month, amid mounting controversy. It includes inflammatory online comments made on Reddit, a well-publicized and now covered-up tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol, recent reports that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women while married and new allegations last week from ex-girlfriends of a history of rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent episodes. Platner has called the latest allegations of violence untrue.

The negative headlines have triggered some Democrats in the nation's capital to question whether Platner was damaged goods. The candidate this past weekend thanked Maine voters for continuing to support him.

"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 at a rally Friday not far from his hometown in Down East, Maine.

"Now, as every single piece of that past and journey gets dug up, litigated, and weaponized, you have my back. And when politically motivated, serious and false accusations are made against me. Maine, you have my back."

SEE IT: MAINE VOTERS SOUND OFF ON PLATNER CONTROVERSIES

Platner, who has acknowledged his battle with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from his three tours of duty in the war in Iraq with the Marines and one tour with the Army National Guard in Afghanistan, apologized for his controversial Reddit posts after they made headlines last fall soon after he launched his Senate campaign.

And Platner has said he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007 while drinking with fellow Marines stationed in Croatia. He added that he covered up the tattoo with a new design after learning last year that it resembled a Nazi symbol. But new allegations from an ex-girlfriend raise questions about Platner's timeline regarding knowledge of the tattoo.

Rep. Ro Khanna, the progressive leader from California who organized Friday's rally with Platner, was asked by ӣ��Ƶ Digital whether he's concerned if the current allegations, and any potential future ones, could sink Platner's campaign and hurt Democrats' hopes of winning back the Senate.

"I’m more concerned about making it clear that we’re opposed to misogyny, those relationships were toxic and volatile, there’s no excuse for that," Khanna said. "I talked to Graham, and he says he was at a very dark period, he had come back from two tours of duty in Iraq as an infantryman seeing violence and death. That doesn’t excuse it."

SEE IT: DEM SENATORS DODGE ON BACKING PLATNER AS MAINE CANDIDATE’S SCANDAL CLOUDS FINAL DAYS BEFORE PRIMARY

But Khanna noted that Platner said "he really grew as a person when he came back to Maine, and he was an oyster farmer, and he found peace, and he is ashamed of that period. To me, that suggests someone taking accountability and improving their lives, and we need that redemption in this country. And I agree with a lot of his economic policies, that we should be taxing the billionaires, we should be focusing on the working class."

Platner has been considered the all-but-certain Democratic nominee after two-term Gov. Janet Mills, who was backed by longtime Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and the Democratic Party establishment, dropped out of the race earlier this spring after significantly trailing Platner in fundraising and polling.

He's facing two long-shot rivals for the nomination in Tuesday's primary, but Mills' name remains on the ballot, which she highlighted in a recent interview. A source in Mills' wider political orbit confirmed to ӣ��Ƶ last week that the governor was receiving calls urging her to get back in the race amid Platner's controversies. But there's no active campaign effort on behalf of Mills.

Maine voters ӣ��Ƶ reporters spoke with ahead of the rally were divided on whether Platner's controversies would impact their opinions of the candidate and whether the allegations would weaken his ability to defeat Collins.

"The allegations in the latest story are troubling," Collins responded. "And I believe that Graham Platner has a lot of questions to answer."

THE TEN RACES THAT WILL DETERMINE THE SENATE'S MAJORITY

Platner is facing plenty of incoming political fire from Republican groups. A super PAC aligned with Collins has been blasting Platner, running ads spotlighting his multiple controversies.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) charged that Platner is a "fraud."

"He's preaching about living a small but decent life growing up in Maine. The truth? Graham Platner is an elitist whose parents sent him to boarding school in Connecticut and bought him a house," the NRSC wrote.

And the Republican National Committee (RNC) also targeted Platner.

"Graham Platner says his violent and erratic past is being "weaponized" against him. Platner said he would rape someone to show his dominance and "rape was about power," the RNC research team wrote on X, pointing to the latest allegations against the candidate.

Despite the allegations and the incoming fire from the GOP, no Democratic politicians who have backed Platner have rescinded their endorsements.

"We need to unite and realize that the goal is defeating Susan Collins. And everyone from Schumer to Sanders is unified around that goal," Khanna told ӣ��Ƶ Digital.

Platner has drawn large crowds and built a healthy fundraising war chest, and Democrats see Maine as a crucial pickup opportunity as they aim to win back the Senate majority.

But beating Collins, a moderate who is running for a sixth six-year term in the Senate and has a history of voting against President Donald Trump's agenda, won't be easy. Six years ago, public opinion polls indicated the senator was headed to defeat, but Collins defied expectations and won re-election by topping then-Democratic state House Speaker Sara Gideon by nine points.

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There's a crowded and competitive field of Democrats running for their party's gubernatorial nomination in the race to succeed the term-limited Mills. On the Republican side, Bobby Charles — former federal investigator — leads eight other candidates, including Jonathan Bush, nephew of the late President George H.W. Bush.

Also in the spotlight, the Democratic primary in the state's 2nd Congressional District, in the race to replace moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, who announced last year that he would not seek re-election due to political polarization.

Republicans, who are aiming to hold their razor-thin majority in the House, view the mostly rural district which Trump carried in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections, as a top pickup opportunity. Former two-term Republican Gov. Paul LePage is uncontested for the GOP nomination.

In South Carolina, Trump's endorsement is in the spotlight.

The president, a week and a half ago, handed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette 11th-hour support as she seeks to succeed a top Trump ally, term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster.

Evette is facing off in the GOP primary against a handful of top rivals. They are longtime South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, nationally known Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep. Ralph Norman and multimillionaire businessman Rom Reddy.

Since no candidate was expected to top 50% of the primary vote and land a majority, the top two finishers will advance to the June 23 Republican runoff.

But his last-minute endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa — which came on the same day he also backed Evette — in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn't enough to muscle the three-term congressman to victory.

In the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, the major contenders had long been highlighting their support for Trump and his agenda, in hopes of landing his support.

Trump, after staying neutral for months, endorsed Evette, praising her as an "America First Patriot" and a "WINNER" in his announcement.

After Trump backed Evette, Mace said that her very vocal push last year for the Justice Department to release the files related to its probe into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein contributed to the president's backing of her rival.

"I know I put the likelihood of an endorsement on the line when I demanded transparency on the Epstein files," the lawmaker wrote. "I demanded it because you deserved the truth — ALL OF IT," Mace emphasized in a post on X.

Trump, in a social media post endorsing Evette, also said he expected Evette to choose Henry McMaster Jr., the governor's son, as her running mate for lieutenant governor.

The comment by the president led to blowback in South Carolina political circles and speculation that McMaster, who succeeded then-Gov. Nikki Haley when she stepped down to serve as U.N. ambassador during Trump's first term and who is in his 10th year as governor, was trying to give his son a political boost.

But McMaster denied any deal or pressure, and Evette has said she wouldn't name any running mate until after the primary is over.

And on Friday, the younger McMaster took his name out of contention, saying it was "incredibly humbling" to be mentioned as a possible lieutenant governor candidate, but that "now is simply not the right time."

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The winner of the Republican gubernatorial nomination will be considered the clear favorite in November's general election in South Carolina.

State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, trial attorney and 2010 gubernatorial candidate William Mullins McLeod Jr., and businessman Billy Webster, who served as chief of staff to then-Democratic Gov. Richard Riley, are running for their party's nomination.

Longtime Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is the clear favorite in the Republican Senate primary, but is facing a tougher-than-expected challenge from South Carolina businessman Mark Lynch in a race that has devolved into mudslinging.

In Nevada, incumbent Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo is expected to fend off a handful of primary challengers as he seeks re-election. On the Democratic side, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is the clear favorite over Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill.

And in solidly red North Dakota, there is a competitive GOP house primary for the state's at-large district.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital's Alexis McAdams, Sally Persons, Jessica Sonkin and Luke Trevisan contributed to this report.

Fetterman refuses to defend Platner, calls him 'baggage' as scandals mount

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 19:20:04 -0400

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., broke with fellow Democrats on Tuesday and refused to defend embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner.

Platner has emerged as one of the party's fastest-rising political figures, attracting national attention for his populist message and outsider image as he seeks to flip a Republican-held seat.

But his rise has been accompanied by mounting scrutiny over his past conduct, including sexually explicit online messages, offensive social media posts, a Nazi-linked tattoo controversy and turmoil within his campaign.

THE GROWING LIST OF CONTROVERSIES THREATENING DEMOCRAT GRAHAM PLATNER'S MAINE SENATE BID

Platner, a Marine veteran and oyster farmer, has defended himself against the criticism and continues to enjoy support from prominent Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., however, made clear he is not among those coming to Platner's defense.

"I really would encourage 'P Hustle' to answer basic questions," Fetterman told ӣ��Ƶ Digital, using Platner's former online alias used on Reddit and Kik accounts.

2026 MIDTERMS: PRIMARIES, KEY RACES AND ELECTION RESULTS

Fetterman pointed to Platner's long-running presence on Kik, a messaging app that has faced scrutiny over the years because of its anonymous features and safety concerns, as well as explicit photos Platner allegedly shared online.

"I mean he was dropping dick pics for a decade and he was on Kik for a decade, and you have that picture of him in the towel that he posted up there," Fetterman said.

Fetterman went on to question whether Platner had adequate safeguards in place while using Kik, arguing the candidate has yet to fully address concerns about his activity on the messaging app.

"What was your safeguards to make sure that you weren't interacting with underage people? Everyone was adults. So he refuses to answer those questions and if that's the kind of people that Maine wants to vote for that's entirely up to them, but "P Hustle" has a lot of serious questions and concerns about his judgment, but also his ethics too," Fetterman said.

PLATNER CONTROVERSIES FUEL SPECULATION ABOUT LITTLE-KNOWN MAINE BALLOT REPLACEMENT PROVISION

When asked about allegations from former partners, Fetterman suggested the controversies surrounding Platner have become so numerous that it's hard to keep track of them all.

"You know, candidates have baggage. In his case, he is baggage that incidentally might be a candidate," he said.

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The Democrat said Platner's mounting controversies leave him with little to defend.

"I'll be the one Democrat to refuse to defend that mess," Fetterman added.

Graham Platner will 'get off the ballot soon,' Democratic lawmaker predicts

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 19:00:01 -0400

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., predicted on Tuesday that Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner will be "off the ballot soon" even if he wins the primary election.

Gottheimer, who has criticized Platner for his scandals in the past, called support for far-left candidates like him a "major concern" for the Democratic Party and encouraged people not to support him during the primaries.

While he stopped short of supporting Platner's presumptive Republican opponent, Sen. Susan Collins, Gottheimer told "CNN News Central" that he would call for Platner to step down regardless of how the race goes.

PENNSYLVANIA DEM REP CLAIMS GRAHAM PLATNER 'HAS DISQUALIFIED HIMSELF' FROM MAINE SENATE RACE

"What I would suggest is that Graham Platner get off if he wins today, which I assume he will, because there‘s no one actively campaigning against him, that he get off the ballot and let another Democrat step in, that the Maine Democratic Party puts somebody else in," Gottheimer said.

He added, "I mean, if this were in Jersey and you had a candidate who abused women, obviously has a Nazi tattoo...it‘s clear that he knew [it[ was a Nazi tattoo, not to mention many of his other lies and his comments and extremist comments, pro-Hamas, a terrorist organization, and other things of that nature, he should get off the ballot. New Jersey would throw him off the ballot or bury him under the Meadowlands."

FETTERMAN DARES PLATNER TO RELEASE MESSAGES WITH MYSTERY WOMEN, SAYS HE'LL 'WEAR A SUIT EVERY DAY' IN RETURN

When host John Berman pressed Gottheimer on who he would endorse if the race ended between Platner and Collins, Gottheimer replied that he does not see Platner becoming the Democratic nominee.

"I don‘t think that‘s going to be the choice, so I‘m not going to do that hypothetical. I think that he‘s going to get off the ballot soon. I mean, you saw today reporting from his ex-political director saying that he lied about all this stuff, the concerns that she had. I mean, the issues are just going to keep piling up. And The New York Times piece was just one of the first piece of many issues that I think will continue to come out about him," Gottheimer said.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to Platner's campaign for comment.

MICHIGAN DEM REP DECLINES TO SUPPORT PLATNER AFTER RESURFACED RAPE COMMENTS

Platner has been engulfed by several scandals since his campaign began, including his controversial Nazi-linked tattoo, extreme Reddit posts and reports of concerning behavior towards ex-girlfriends.

Despite this, several progressives have maintained their support for Platner ahead of the primary election, with some, like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna, even rallying with him.

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Alongside Gottheimer, Massachusetts Rep. Jake Auchincloss, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and Pennsylvania Rep. Madeleine Dean have been among the few Democrats to publicly disavow Platner, with Auchincloss calling Platner's tattoo alone "personally disqualifying" last month.

Platner holdout floats emergency lifeline for panicking Dems if scandal-plagued candidate wins

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 18:59:37 -0400

A top Jewish Democrat and member of the House Intelligence Committee called for Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner to exit the race, adding that if the scandal-plagued oyster farmer were running in New Jersey, he would be "buried under the Meadowlands."

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, the subject of a recent profile that compared him to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and said he wants to be a "bulwark" against Democrats’ newfound leftist impulses, suggested there is no room for Platner on the party’s midterm ticket.

When asked by CNN if his aversion to Platner should be read as a recommendation that Democrats instead vote for moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins, Gottheimer offered another off-ramp.

"No, what I would suggest is that Graham Platner get off if he wins today, which I assume he will because there's no one actively campaigning against him, that he get off the ballot and let another Democrat step in," Gottheimer said.

SEE IT: MAINE VOTERS SOUND OFF ON PLATNER'S DIVISIVE CAMPAIGN AS CRUCIAL PRIMARY NEARS: 'HE'S A DISGRACE'

Platner is the frontrunner in Tuesday’s primary, as Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign and other candidates, including Bangor’s David Costello, have failed to gain traction.

"If this were Jersey and you had a candidate who abused women, obviously has a Nazi tattoo that — now it's clear that he knew was a Nazi tattoo: not to mention many of his other lies and his comments and extremist comments; pro Hamas — a terrorist organization — other things of that nature. He should get off the ballot."

Gottheimer, who represents Bergen County’s deep-blue New York City suburbs and the rural ruby-red Skylands of the state’s northwest, said that if Platner tried to run in the Garden State, "we’d throw him off the ballot or bury him under the Meadowlands."

PLATNER CONTROVERSIES FUEL SPECULATION ABOUT LITTLE-KNOWN MAINE BALLOT REPLACEMENT PROVISION

Former Teamsters President James Hoffa Sr. was also purportedly buried beneath Giants Stadium after his disappearance decades ago.

Gottheimer said Platner should leave the ballot when he wins Tuesday, and let someone more "qualified" replace him.

He said separately that socialists should not be considered true members of the Democratic Party no matter their cataloged affiliation, and that the hard left wing is not where the mainstream of the U.S. is.

"I think it's really important that we speak out when we see some of these issues that are a challenge," he said, referring again to Platner.

He said he doesn’t believe Platner will be the ultimate contender for the Democrats against Collins by November.

He alluded to Mills’ statement that her campaign is not over, but only suspended.

FORMER PRIMARY RIVAL RESURFACES TO CHALLENGE SCANDAL-PLAGUED GRAHAM PLATNER IN MAINE SENATE RACE

"Hopefully today you'll see Janet Mills, even though she is the governor, left the race, her name is still on the ballot. We'll see how well she does. And I think that's going to be a sign of the frustration," he said, while questioning how female voters could support someone facing allegations of violence against women.

He also appeared to blame President Donald Trump for the New York Knicks’ narrow loss to the San Antonio Spurs at home on Monday.

The president was loudly booed by the largely liberal fan base but at the same time was welcomed into Madison Square Garden by team owner and Republican donor James Dolan and some faint "U-S-A" chants could be heard under the rancor on the ABC broadcast.

"[Trump] brought in some bad mojo into the Garden last night and p---ed off a lot of people -- but don't worry," he said of the Knicks’ chances in the finals overall.

While Gottheimer joins Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman in ridiculing Platner, he retains support from 1992 Clinton campaign architect James Carville, who said on his podcast that, as a Louisianan, he understands oyster farming is "hard a—work" and that Platner’s apparent PTSD is something voters should better understand.

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"Maybe we need a combat veteran right on that Senate floor who is [expletive] up, who every time these [expletives] go to vote for another war … Maybe they need to look at this guy before they start sending young people off to fight wars and see what the consequence of it is," he said, according to RCP.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to the Platner campaign for comment.

Sen Collins slams Bernie-backed Graham Platner as too far-left for Maine voters

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 10:56:52 -0400

BANGOR, Maine — Republican Sen. Susan Collins believes that Graham Platner, her likely Democratic challenger in November's midterm elections, is too extreme for voters in her New England state.

But Platner, pushing an economically populist agenda as he takes aim at corporate influences and advocates for the working class, argues it is moderate Collins who is the "radical" one.

With the support of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Ro Khanna of California, Platner is aiming to unseat the longtime Republican senator in left-leaning Maine.

The race is among a handful that could determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority in the midterm elections, and the oyster farmer has been forced onto defense in recent weeks amid mounting controversies and negative headlines.

IT'S JUDGMENT DAY FOR EMBATTLED DEMOCRAT GRAHAM PLATNER

While Collins has mostly kept quiet about Platner's political baggage, she has weighed in on his agenda.

Among his many progressive policy stances, Platner, on his campaign website, urges "passing a constitutional amendment to ban billionaires buying elections!"

And he highlights that he's "a strong supporter of a Medicare for All system" and that he "will support a path to citizenship and an end to the mass deportation machine."

Asked if Platner is too far to the left for voters in her northern New England state, Collins responded in a ӣ��Ƶ Digital interview last month, "I believe that will be the conclusion of Maine voters. But, obviously, I don't take anything for granted."

But Platner challenges that it's Collins who is too "radical."

CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS LIVE UPDATES ON TODAY'S PRIMARY ELECTIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

"My response is that, trying to bring down costs for working Mainers. Trying to make sure that our communities don't get emptied out because housing has become unaffordable for young people. Trying to create a system in which we are not seeing our health care system utilized as a way of just screwing working people all for the benefit of a health care insurance CEO," Platner responded in a ӣ��Ƶ Digital interview last month.

"I don't think that's radical at all," he added, claiming: "I think, in fact, that what most Mainers agree is what we have to be doing."

Rather, he claimed that "what's radical is somebody like Susan Collins, who, for decades now, has made sure that we pass policies that are going to help corporations and billionaires to the detriment of working people, supporting over and over and over again, illegal and insane foreign wars."

"She voted to send me to Iraq, and now she continues to vote to support the war in Iran," Platner charged. "I'm sorry that I think is much more radical to the people of Maine than having a health care system that doesn't collapse before our eyes."

PLATNER TO SUPPORTERS: 'MAINE, YOU HAVE MY BACK'

Despite his numerous controversies, Platner has drawn large crowds and built a healthy fundraising war chest.

Democrats see Maine as a crucial pickup opportunity in the 2026 midterms as they aim to win back the Senate majority in the fall.

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Bombshell claims by former campaign director rock Platner’s campaign hours before polls open

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 09:55:37 -0400

Graham Platner shouldn't be elected to represent Maine in the U.S. Senate, a former high-level staffer for the embattled Democratic candidate told voters just hours before polls opened in the state's Tuesday primary.

Genevieve McDonald, once a Maine state representative who worked briefly as Platner's campaign director last year, warned in an op/ed in The Washington Post on Monday evening: "Graham Platner is not someone who would be good for Maine or for the country."

While she overlooked his Nazi-linked tattoo and possible cheating scandal, McDonald said in the piece titled "I know firsthand why Graham Platner shouldn't be a U.S. senator" that she couldn't ignore how "he exhibits a pattern of dishonest behavior," and ultimately quit the campaign after just two months.

"I was one of the Platner campaign’s first gaslighting casualties," she wrote.

McDonald said she was "disturbed" by what she learned during her time on his staff from August to October 2025.

"If America wants a stronger democracy, elevating leaders with integrity is essential," she wrote in the opinion piece. "Leaders with sound judgment and ethics. Leaders who embrace and live the ideals the nation stands for."

THE GROWING LIST OF CONTROVERSIES THREATENING DEMOCRAT GRAHAM PLATNER'S MAINE SENATE BID

McDonald complained about the series of skeletons that emerged, including the Nazi-linked tattoo on his chest, recent allegations of physical misconduct with an ex-girlfriend and lewd Reddit posts that have rocked his campaign.

She specifically took issue with one Reddit post where Platner said white, rural Americans are 'racist' and 'stupid.' The demographic he attacked is the one in which he is now hoping to represent in the U.S. Senate.

McDonald also slammed the campaign's "feigned ignorance" of the significance of the tattoo, which she described as "appalling."

The woman who made allegations of physical violence against Platner, Lyndsey Fifield, stood in solidarity with McDonald after the piece was published on Monday night.

"Last year, I watched a woman sacrifice her career to stand on principle and warn the public about a dangerous man. Genevieve has been relentlessly attacked — but she kept her honor and her soul. She has inspired me to stay strong through this storm."

Among other revelations in the op/ed, McDonald said the campaign offered her a severance package of $15,000 contingent upon signing a non-disclosure agreement, which she refused.

TOP OFF-THE-WALL REDDIT POSTS HAUNTING GRAHAM PLATNER’S MAINE SENATE BID

McDonald conveyed that she wanted to believe Platner's narrative of redemption — the candidate often touts himself as a man with a troubled past who has since straightened up — but she felt the overwhelming scandals were too much for her to continue working on the campaign.

She also used the platform in the Post to take a dig at Platner, who has pitched himself as a working-class Mainer, humble oyster farmer and small-town harbor master.

"I realized the campaign had not been honest with me," McDonald wrote. "As someone from a real working-class background, I knew this would undermine his cross-party appeal."

PLATNER’S ‘LIVING ON THE SEA’ CLAIM DISMANTLED BY CRITICS AS FINANCIAL DOCS PAINT A DIFFERENT PICTURE

That narrative has recently fallen apart as his campaign came under fire from multiple angles.

Platner's mother, who owns a restaurant, is listed as the only customer of his oyster farming business on its financial disclosers. He farms off a private island owned by the family of his business partner, and his father gave him a $200,000 loan to purchase a home.

"I want better for my daughters, and for the people of Maine," McDonald wrote. "Democrats are being sold a narrative that Platner is the only choice for the race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Maine voters don’t have to accept that."

There are two other Democratic candidates on the ballot in Tuesday's race, Gov. Janet Mills and consultant David Costello.

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Mills was Platner's main challenger, but withdrew from the race due to her campaign's lack of funds on hand. Her withdrawal, however, came after the ballots were already printed — so her name will still appear as an option for voters.

"The answer to a broken political culture is not to accept it," McDonald concluded. "Demand better from those entrusted with power or seeking it."

"Enough is enough."

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to the Platner campaign.

Activists behind Graham Platner's rise admit vetting process didn't bring up Nazi-linked tattoo

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 07:45:43 -0400

Liberal activists who were behind Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner's campaign admitted that their vetting process did not pick up certain issues such as his controversial Nazi-linked tattoo.

Wall Street Journal reporter Aaron Zitner spoke to Daniel Moraff, Leanne Fan and Morris Katz, three activists who "handpicked" Platner to challenge Maine Sen. Susan Collins for her Senate seat ahead of the 2026 midterms. During the interview, which premiered on Sunday, Zitner asked about the vetting process after choosing to run with Platner.

"We paid a nice firm a whole chunk of money and got some stuff back," Moraff said. "Some of what you've seen on the news we got back, other stuff we didn't."

GRAHAM PLATNER BLAMES NAZI TATTOO ON MILITARY ‘CULTURE,’ DRAWS BACKLASH FROM GOP VETERANS

"Did the vetting process turn up the tattoo that became so controversial?" Zitner asked.

"No," Moraff answered.

Zitner followed up by asking whether the vetting process brought up Platner's controversial Reddit posts where he made comments demeaning women and mocking U.S. soldiers.

"The firm sent us a thing, and it had some of the posts, but it didn't have all of them," Moraff said.

Despite the things he did see, Moraff insisted that none of Platner's past comments "will or should stop him from becoming a U.S. senator."

MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE CITES COMBAT TRAUMA WHEN CONFRONTED ON 'TERRIBLE' POSTS ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULT

Katz similarly defended running with Platner, claiming that he was a better option than the establishment.

"To me, the biggest risk the Democratic Party can take is continuing to do things the same way it's done, that have ended us with a House minority, a Senate minority, and a second term of Donald Trump," Katz said. "And I think we cannot be the party that is the party of the establishment, the party of the institution."

He continued, "So, you know, constantly in the position of, 'Hey, we know you're being screwed by everyone in power, but let us just tinker around the edges there, and eventually it will get better.' That's an incoherent electoral strategy, and it's failed to actually make things better to the degree they need to get better. And so I think there's far less risk in running someone like Graham Platner than in running the same playbook."

GRAHAM PLATNER DENIES DAMNING NEW REPORT ALLEGING ABUSE AS 'SIMPLY NOT TRUE'

Zitner revealed in the interview that The Wall Street Journal reached out to Moraff following Platner's most recent scandals, including reports that he has sent explicit messages to several women while being married and that he displayed concerning behavior towards women he had previously dated.

"We will let the people of Maine decide," Moraff said in a statement reported by The Wall Street Journal.

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ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to Platner's campaign for comment.

GOP lawmaker warns voters that Platner's 'extreme' policies just as concerning as his baggage: 'Stay away'

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 06:00:54 -0400

LEWISTON, ME - As Maine voters head to the polls Tuesday to nominate a Democratic Senate candidate, a Republican lawmaker in the state says that Maine voters should be most concerned with the policies of Graham Platner, even though his political baggage has received most of the attention.

"His personal life is a mess, right?" Maine Republican State Representative Laurel Libby told ӣ��Ƶ Digital on Monday. "We understand that. We've seen scandal after scandal come out. But what I think is incredibly dangerous are the policies that he's looking to advance."

Libby, who represents Maine House District 90, which encompasses Minot and part of Auburn, said one of the policies she is most concerned about is Platner’s support of the progressive "Green New Deal," sweeping legislation that would cost taxpayers tens of trillions of dollars and phase out fossil fuel production.

"Taking the extreme green agenda to DC that has already made our cost of electricity skyrocket in our state under Democrat leadership for the last eight years," Libby said. "If we see that implemented in D.C., and we see costs increase across the country, it won't just be crushing Mainers, it will be crushing American families and workers across the board."

SEE IT: MAINE VOTERS SOUND OFF ON PLATNER'S DIVISIVE CAMPAIGN AS CRUCIAL PRIMARY NEARS: 'HE'S A DISGRACE'

Libby told ӣ��Ƶ Digital that it "doesn’t surprise me" Democrats are poised to nominate Platner, despite his laundry list of controversies that critics have seized on, because Maine has been led by the "same kind of extremism" for eight years as the party controls the governor’s mansion and legislature.

"We have seen 32 new or increased taxes, we’ve seen all of our overall cost of living increase and so Graham Platner has sprung out of that and is looking to take those same policies to D.C., harming not just Mainers but folks across the country," Libby said. "I think he's tremendously dangerous, and we can't have him in the Senate."

As Platner continues to experience high poll numbers despite his controversial positions and statements, Libby explained that she believes most of the affordability issues that are concerning voters are because of policies at the state level, rather than federal.

PLATNER-BACKER RO KHANNA INSISTS THERE'S 'NO EVIDENCE OF VIOLENCE' IN NEWEST ALLEGATIONS

"I think the majority of Maine voters are in a place where they're going, oh my gosh, the cost of living is killing us, it's hard to do business in Maine. Our costs are going up, and so we need something," Libby said. "Not understanding that it's state policies that are making life so hard for us. And so they look for a savior, and they think, you know, some of them think, some of the more extreme Mainers think that they've found that in Graham Platner. Couldn't be further from the truth."

"All he's gonna do is take these extreme policies that have already harmed us so tremendously here in Maine, increase electricity costs, increase the cost of living, increase our taxes, and take that to D.C., where then we're gonna continue to see a burden increase on Mainers. I think Mainers would be well advised to stay far away from Graham Platner and his extreme policies, or else we're going to see our costs continue to skyrocket here in Maine."

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to the Platner campaign for comment.

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Platner, widely believed to be the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate, heads into a Tuesday night primary election where Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and former senior government official David Costello are on the ballot.

If victorious, Platner will square off against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.

Libby, who is not seeking re-election in 2026, recently launched Lead Maine, a group she hopes will empower more Maine voters with the tools to vote for strong conservative leaders in the state.

"We're looking to educate, engage, and empower Mainers to make the change that we want to see in our state," Libby said. "That does not include electing extremists like Graham Platner to the Senate, but making sure that Mainers understand that it's the government that's closest to us that affects us the most."

Susan Collins refuses to weigh in on Platner's sexting scandal as Maine voters head to polls

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 05:00:17 -0400

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, repeatedly declined to weigh in on Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner's sexting controversy last week, opting to keep her distance from the escalating scandal as Maine voters head to the polls Tuesday.

"I really have nothing to add to it," Collins told ӣ��Ƶ Digital when asked about the allegations surrounding Platner, the Democratic frontrunner and her presumed opponent.

Collins reiterated that position when pressed further, declining multiple opportunities to comment as scrutiny surrounding Platner intensified ahead of the Democratic primary.

WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER'S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE

"As I said to you earlier, I do not have anything to add to this," Collins said.

Collins' refusal to engage comes as Republicans have increasingly made Platner's controversies a central line of attack ahead of the primary. Outside organizations backing Collins have aired ads and amplified criticism of the Maine Democrat, while the senator herself has largely avoided publicly weighing in despite being expected to face him in November’s midterms.

Collins' recent reluctance to comment differs from her earlier remarks about Platner. Last month, she criticized the Democratic candidate when speaking to ӣ��Ƶ Digital after he mocked a wounded U.S. soldier.

"It’s never appropriate to mock a downed American soldier," Collins said to ӣ��Ƶ Digital last month. "It’s just appalling."

PLATNER SUPPORTER KHANNA CALLS SENATE HOPEFUL'S PAST RELATIONSHIPS 'TOXIC,' BUT SAYS HE DESERVES 'REDEMPTION'

But she has repeatedly declined to address the more recent sexting scandal allegations that occurred while Platner was married, which have dominated discussion of the race in the final days before the primary.

The silence also shows the difference in how Democrats have responded to the controversy. Party leaders and allies have increasingly backed, and even formally endorsed, Platner as more controversies continue to surface in his campaign. Democrats have directly targeted Collins over her voting record and argue that flipping the seat remains a top priority despite all the allegations surrounding Platner.

WATCH: MAINE VOTERS DIVIDED ON PLATNER AS SCANDALS SHADOW DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

Platner has continued campaigning, with top lawmakers such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who reiterated his support for the Maine Democrat to ӣ��Ƶ Digital in an interview Friday night, arguing that Platner is "taking accountability" for his past and that "we need that redemption in this country."

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With polls open Tuesday, Maine voters face a choice that could shape one of the country's most-watched Senate races, as Platner seeks to move past the controversy and secure a matchup against Collins.

Platner floats jailing billionaires in fiery pre-primary speech pushing far-left agenda

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 20:23:39 -0400

Scandal-plagued Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner used a fiery pre-primary address to pitch universal health care, wealth taxes, a Green New Deal and other far-left agenda items, like floating an idea that billionaires should be jailed for looking at political ads "the wrong way" in remarks about campaign finance reform.

The comment about jailing billionaires earned the candidate backlash from his Republican critics, who pointed out some of Platner's biggest endorsers are funded by billionaires, highlighted the "Marxist dystopian" nature of the remarks, and joked that Platner must have some sort of affinity for locking people up against their will, referring to recent allegations from an ex-girlfriend.

"We need to get money out of politics. We need to get rid of Citizens United. And, if I had my way, elections would last two months, they will be publicly funded and if a billionaire looked at a TV ad the wrong way, we'd put 'em in jail," Platner told a crowd of constituents Sunday night in Maine, earning applause. The comments came as Platner was laying out his far-left agenda and railing against conservatives, including calling President Donald Trump "dumb."

"That's one way to thank some of his own supporters for their generosity!" quipped veteran Republican strategist Colin Reed, who pointed to Platner's prominent endorsers, like Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who received several contributions last month from billionaires like George Soros, Pat Stryker, Jon Stryker and Jennifer Pritzker, according to campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets.

PLATNER’S ANTI-CORPORATE CRUSADE HITS AWKWARD SNAG AS RECEIPTS TELL ANOTHER STORY

"Why worry about slowly slipping into a Marxist dystopia? With Graham Platner, you can sprint toward it!" Jason Savage, Executive Director of the Maine GOP, said in response to Platner's stump speech remarks about jailing billionaires.

"Dude is big on locking people in rooms against their will, apparently," joked CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings, an apparent reference to recent reporting on Platner’s past romantic relationships, including one ex-girlfriend’s allegation that he once twisted her arm behind her back, pushed her into a bedroom and held the door shut from the other side. Platner has denied the allegations.

‘HE HATED WOMEN’: EXPLOSIVE ABUSE, NEW NAZI TATTOO ALLEGATIONS FROM EXES ROCK PLATNER'S CAMPAIGN

Platner’s campaign has been dogged by controversies since he emerged as a progressive challenger in Maine’s closely watched Senate race against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, including recent complaints from multiple ex-girlfriends about his behavior during their relationships. The reports included accusations from one of Platner's ex-girlfriends, Lyndsey Fifield, who told The New York Times about being trapped in a room by Platner during their relationship more than a decade ago.

"The Platner campaign has already spent more than $14 million and we aren't even past the primary," Shawn Roderick, a spokesperson for the Collins campaign told ӣ��Ƶ Digital. "Does Graham Platner really think that American taxpayers should be paying his high-priced political consultants and the tech billionaires who own the platforms where he does his advertising? He is floating this idea to distract from the many disturbing problems his campaign has faced over the past two weeks."

Platner has also been facing backlash for exchanging sexually explicit messages with multiple women early in his marriage on the platform Kik. Following those reports, Platner was found to still have an active profile on Kik, an anonymous messaging app that has faced criticism from child-safety groups and law enforcement officials. The profile reportedly featured a shirtless mirror selfie of Platner with a towel around his waist, which Republican staffers later appeared to mock outside the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee by showing up in towels.

SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER SENT EXPLICIT TEXTS TO MULTIPLE WOMEN WHILE MARRIED, WIFE SAYS: REPORT

Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, reportedly disclosed the messages to campaign officials during an internal vetting process, and the campaign has acknowledged the messages existed while arguing the matter was addressed privately between Platner and his wife.

Meanwhile, Platner has argued that the allegations from former girlfriends are politically motivated, while his campaign has accused critics and national media outlets of focusing on private matters and personal attacks rather than the issues affecting Maine voters.

By the time those controversies hit the news, Platner had already faced scrutiny over a tattoo that critics identified as a Nazi-linked symbol, which he later covered up and said he was not aware of its meaning when he got it. One of Platner's former staffers, Genevieve McDonald, alleged that even though Platner has said he was unaware of the symbol’s association with Nazis when he got the tattoo years ago, he has been aware of its meaning for some time.

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Platner also apologized after his old Reddit posts resurfaced in which he made a series of inflammatory comments about rape, race, political violence, police, rural Americans and military veterans. Platner has said his views have changed and that some of his past comments reflected a darker period in his life after military service.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to the Platner campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

Platner’s ‘living on the sea’ claim dismantled by critics as financial docs paint a different picture

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:00:28 -0400

Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner claimed that he has been able to "make a living on the sea" since leaving the armed forces during a Friday rally, an assertion his financial disclosures don’t appear to support.

Platner, who is running for Senate in Maine to unseat incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins, has long identified himself as an oyster farmer and harbor master, giving a blue-collar tinge to his left-wing campaign. Financial disclosures, however, show that he brings in relatively little money from oyster farming, with reports suggesting that Platner receives the majority of his income through veteran’s disability payments.

"My healthcare gave me freedom," Platner said at a June 5 rally. "It gave me the freedom to take risks, to start a business and to sink my intellect and my physicality into mastering the skills necessary to make a living on the sea."

PLATNER’S ANTI-CORPORATE CRUSADE HITS AWKWARD SNAG AS RECEIPTS TELL ANOTHER STORY

Platner's comments drew ire on social media, with many questioning the Senate hopeful's claim to working-class identity.

Platner’s 2025 financial disclosures show that he listed "other $5,001" as his annual income from farming oysters. The candidate’s entire business is only worth between $50,000 and $100,000, which accounts for his boat, lines, anchors and other farming equipment, per the disclosure.

He earned an additional $3,000 serving as the harbor master for Sullivan, Maine, — a role the Washington Free Beacon reported was largely clerical and where he was responsible for overseeing the 17 boat moorings on the small town's coast.

Taken together, these sums are dwarfed by the $4,800 Platner says he receives through monthly disability payments. Platner is legally entitled to such a sum owing to injuries he suffered while serving in the armed forces.

"I’ve got a couple herniated discs. My shoulder’s a wreck. My knees bother me," Platner, who saw combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, told News Center Maine in an October 2025 interview.

Despite his reliance on disability, Platner has consistently referred to himself as an "oyster farmer" while campaigning for Senate.

In a September 2025 interview with the New Yorker, for example, he called himself a "small-town oyster farmer."

While Platner credits federally funded healthcare for his ability to start a business, a number of other factors have assisted him along the way.

A restaurant owned by Platner’s mother, for instance, is the only customer listed on his financial disclosures as purchasing oysters from him. Additionally, Platner’s farm is located on a private island owned by his business partner’s family and he received a $200,000 loan from his father to purchase his home, the Washington Free Beacon previously reported.

"Platner lies in this clip," freelance journalist Magdi Jacobs said of Platner’s statement on Friday. "He says he ‘makes a living off the sea.’ He objectively does not."

Others pointed out that the reality of Platner's oyster farming may not match what people typically think of when someone says they make their living on the ocean.

"Buddy, I love oyster farmers you're not trawling Georges Bank, you're pulling up traps in a protected 25-foot deep bay," D.C.-based lawyer Patrick Brennan wrote on social media.

PLATNER CONTROVERSIES FUEL SPECULATION ABOUT LITTLE-KNOWN MAINE BALLOT REPLACEMENT PROVISION

The Maine Democrat hasn't been shy about the fact that he receives significant money from the federal government as compensation for disabilities he accrued during his service as an infantryman, telling News Center Maine that, in addition to the estimated $4,800 he receives in cash benefits, a portion of which he puts toward his mortgage every month, he also received subsidized healthcare.

"I put $954 of it toward my mortgage," he said.

He did not mention the loan from his father during the interview.

Platner's ascent within the Democratic Party came off the heels of the 2024 election, where liberals were largely seen as having lost partially due to their failure to appeal to male voters.

"I definitely don’t think I’m uniquely qualified for it," Platner previously said when asked about his purported appeal to younger men. "I do understand that because of my journey, I think my voice on the issue can be more accessible, just because I’ve been angry on the internet as a younger man, I get it. I also get that it wasn’t anger on the internet that got me out of it. It was quite literally, community. It was building healthy, normal relationships with people."

While some have argued that Platner's combat experience and blue-collar background provide what Democrats have been missing, others claim that his public persona doesn't totally match public records.

PLATNER CONTROVERSIES FUEL SPECULATION ABOUT LITTLE-KNOWN MAINE BALLOT REPLACEMENT PROVISION

"The entire fabric of Graham Platner’s biography continues to fall apart under even modest scrutiny," National Republican Senatorial Committee press secretary Bernadette Breslin told ӣ��Ƶ Digital. "Mainers deserve authenticity — not Platner’s perverted past, inflated résumé and ‘working-class’ rebrand."

The Platner campaign did not respond to a request for comment when reached by ӣ��Ƶ Digital on Monday.

Some have argued that the apparent incongruence between Platner's blue-collar public image and what's appeared in media reports doesn't seem to be hurting him with voters.

"Despite this — Platner seems to connect with working class voters here in Maine," ӣ��Ƶ national correspondent Alexis McAdams reported on June 5. "Tonight, at least a dozen veterans stood up in the crowd to show support [and] many people here say they are working two or more jobs to just scrape by."

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Platner has been battered by widely publicized scandals in recent weeks surrounding his deleted social media posts, allegedly abusive treatment of women and a Nazi tattoo he got during his time in the armed forces. He has, however, resisted calls to drop out of the race.

"This is the political establishment doing its best to make sure that people like me, who have lived lives that are sometimes flawed, sometimes complicated, they're going to try to send the message that if you ever attempt to get into power, if you ever attempt to advocate for yourself, we will crush you," Platner recently said of the controversy surrounding his candidacy. "This is the political establishment trying to fight back. And they are going to fail."

While Platner has been the presumptive nominee since Democratic Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the Senate race in April, he faces a test on Tuesday as Mainers head to the polls to vote in the state's primary elections.

Democrat who led #MeToo charge stays silent as accusations emerge against Senate hopeful Graham Platner

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 18:00:03 -0400

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has been conspicuously silent amid allegations against Senate hopeful Graham Platner despite her prominent role at the height of the #MeToo movement spearheading outrage against two men facing sexual misconduct accusations.

Platner allegedly engaged in aggressive physical behavior, according to an ex-girlfriend who spoke with The New York Times. He is expected to become the party's nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine in Tuesday's election.

But Gillibrand has remained silent in the wake of the accusations, despite her vocal support for alleged victims of powerful men in the past.

In 2017, when a mere "#MeToo" allegation could sink a political career, Gillibrand was among the loudest voices who called for the resignation of then Minnesota Democratic Sen. Al Franken. Eight women had accused him of sexual harassment — including claims that he groped or forcibly kissed women without consent.

Franken resigned from Congress in disgrace amid the scandal after immense pressure from inside his own party and from the political right.

He later said in an interview with Conan O'Brien that he "deserved due process" that he never got.

HOW MUCH BAGGAGE WILL DEMOCRATS ACCEPT FROM MAINE'S GRAHAM PLATNER?

Gillibrand stood by her decision to go after a member of her own party when she was running for the Democratic nomination for president despite media scrutiny.

"I know the issue of Sen. Franken is hard for many Democrats. But he had eight credible sexual harassment allegations against him, and I had to choose whether to stay silent, or not. If some megadonors have a problem with that, that's on them," she said on X in 2019.

"Silencing women for the powerful, or for your friends, or for convenience, is neither acceptable, nor just," she said in another post.

GILLIBRAND ON CALLING FOR AL FRANKEN TO RESIGN: 'I WAS NOT GOING TO REMAIN SILENT'

She was at it again when Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018, when he was in the throes of the confirmation process, faced an unproven allegation of groping Christine Blasey Ford decades prior when they were teenagers.

"I think this should affect every senator's view on Judge Kavanaugh," she told the Democrat and Chronicle at the time. "I'm hopeful the Senate will at least have some measure of review, maybe a hearing, some measure of analysis of this accusation, and have some measure of clarity on whether this is disqualifying. I believe it is disqualifying, given what we know."

SARAH SILVERMAN CALLS OUT KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND FOR DEFENDING JOE BIDEN AFTER CONDEMNING AL FRANKEN

The New York senator raged against Kavanaugh on Twitter, now X, during his confirmation proceedings and repeatedly said she believes women who allege misconduct by men.

"#IBelieveChristine Blasey Ford," she said on the platform. "Her credible allegation of sexual assault against Brett Kavanaugh should disqualify him from ever being confirmed to the Supreme Court."

MAHER WARNS DEMOCRATS HAVE 'ANOTHER SEX, CREEP PROBLEM’ WITH PLATNER CITING MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS

Her hypocrisy is now on display as Gillibrand, who once called out members of both parties once allegations are made public against them, has remained silent as Platner faces a number of controversies, including an accusation of physical misconduct.

Lyndsey Fifield, who once dated Platner, told The New York Times that Platner was physically rough with her.

GRAHAM PLATNER ACCUSER HITS NYT FOR ALLEGEDLY SOFTENING ALLEGATIONS, SAYS COVERAGE WAS 'GIFT' TO DEMOCRAT

"[S]he said he regularly grabbed her by the shoulders — sometimes hard enough to leave marks — and, on one occasion, yanked her out of a cab by her wrist after an argument when she wanted to stay in the car," the paper reported.

"During one argument, she recalled, he twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom and held the door closed from the other side so she couldn’t get out, telling her to remain there until she was 'calm.' Eventually, Ms. Fifield said, she fell asleep and left the next morning," according to the report.

Platner's campaign has denied the accusations.

AOC DODGES QUESTIONS ON ABUSE ALLEGATIONS, NAZI TATTOO CLAIMS ROCKING PLATNER'S CAMPAIGN

In a marked change from their loud-cried "believe all women" tune, many Democrats online have accused Fifield, who has worked in the conservative political sphere, of simply being a Republican operative.

Gillibrand has not commented since the Times report was published.

Before the allegations of physical misconduct, Platner faced other significant controversies, and was hauled to Washington, D.C. for a sit-down with powerful elected Democrats to do crisis talks just a week before his primary election in Maine.

WATCH: SCANDAL-PLAGUED PLATNER DODGES QUESTIONS BEFORE DC MEETING WITH DEMOCRATS

Chief among those controversies is a Nazi-linked tattoo on his chest, a lewd post about masturbating inside portable toilets and exchanging sexual messages with women while he was married.

Before the Times report but after other scandals already emerged, Gillibrand and other Democrats lined-up to reiterate their support for Platner.

Gillibrand outside those meetings with the candidate said she thinks her party will win in the Pine Tree State in November, and confirmed she still has confidence in the Maine Democrat.

"I'm very confident we are going to win Maine," she told reporters outside the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee building when asked if she still supports the progressive candidate.

"I do. I have confidence that we are going to win Maine and I have no doubt."

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Gillibrand's office did not return a request for comment on Monday. Neither did Platner's campaign or a contact for Franken.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital's Kiera McDonald contributed to this report.

SEE IT: Maine voters sound off on Platner's divisive campaign as crucial primary nears: 'He's a disgrace'

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 13:03:40 -0400

PORTLAND, Maine — Voters in Maine are just one day away from deciding which Democrat they want to represent them in the U.S. Senate, and residents who spoke to ӣ��Ƶ are mixed on whether Graham Platner's swirling controversies disqualify him from seeking the office.

"He's a disgrace to every veteran that has PTSD like I do, because he's using it as an excuse to cover up his own personal failings," Bill, a Peaks Island resident and military veteran, told ӣ��Ƶ, referencing Platner leaning into his PTSD struggles as a combat veteran.

"You do not abuse women because you were in combat. You do not say things about trans people. You do not wear Nazi symbols because you were in combat. That is because of who you are," Bill said. "He's a little bitty, well-to-do guy hiding behind his status as a veteran and not acknowledging himself as a failed human being."

WATCH: MAINE VOTERS DIVIDED ON PLATNER AS SCANDALS SHADOW DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

As the primary nears, Platner is facing criticism from both the left and the right over allegations of abuse from former girlfriends, sexually explicit messages allegedly sent to women during the early days of his marriage, a Nazi-linked tattoo and online comments mocking a Purple Heart veteran.

Mike, a Maine voter, said Platner's tattoo made his decision a "no-brainer," saying it was difficult to believe the candidate did not know the Totenkopf symbol on his chest had been used by Nazi death camp guards.

"Nothing good about him," Mike said. "Anybody with a Nazi tattoo, and it's not a Bugs Bunny tattoo, okay? It's like, 'Oh my God, I got a tattoo, I didn't know what it was.' If he was honest about it, and said, 'Hey, it was a mistake. I got a Nazi tattoo, and it's stupid. I was drunk and I was in the service,' then maybe that's one thing. But at that point, it's a no-brainer for me."

DEMOCRATIC MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER CONFRONTED BY MS NOW HOST ABOUT TATTOO CONTROVERSY

When asked if Democrats should drop Platner, Mike said, "Of course they should," adding that Democrats are standing by Platner because they see him as their best chance to unseat Sen. Susan Collins.

"I mean, it's like they're locked in now. This has nothing to do with being a Democrat or Republican. They want to get rid of Susan Collins, take over the Senate, and that's the bottom line. He could be Adolf Hitler. It doesn't matter who he is. It's just the fact that they want to take over the Senate, and that's their only option right now."

Karen, a Rockland resident, also questioned whether Platner's scandals should be overlooked, saying they reflect on his character.

"I think it's crazy," Karen said. "I think there's a lot of things about him that people should understand. They say, 'Oh, it's personal,' but then that also indicates his character."

Other Mainers who spoke to ӣ��Ƶ struck a different tone, including Holly, a Belfast resident.

"Nobody's perfect. Everyone makes mistakes," Holly said. "He's apologized for the mistakes he's made, and he's taken action about it. If you listen to what he's about in terms of policy, he is very much saying the right things for Maine and the right thing for the country more broadly, and I think he's a very good candidate."

GRAHAM PLATNER BLASTS NEW ALLEGATIONS AS 'FALSE ACCUSATIONS': 'MAINE, YOU HAVE MY BACK'

Claire, a Brooklin resident, said voters should focus less on Platner's past and more on his candidacy, saying, "He's the best candidate by far, and probing into the minutiae of his personal relationships when you don't do that for any other candidate is ridiculous."

One voter argued that working-class candidates should not be expected to have spotless records.

"If we want folks who are representing us from the working class, they're not necessarily going to have a groomed and perfect political record coming into politics," Paul, a Bar Harbor resident, said.

Kathy, a Rockland resident, said she was willing to look past Platner's "baggage," saying "He's got new ideas, and he's saying things for the people and about the people."

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If victorious, Platner will square off against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.

Platner calls Fetterman ‘a--hole’ at town hall as Democratic feud heats up

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 12:09:14 -0400

PORTLAND, Maine — Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner used a profane insult against Sen. John Fetterman during a Sunday town hall in southern Maine, escalating his feud with the Pennsylvania Democrat just two days before Maine’s Senate primary.

The Senate really is a place of, it's a lot about relationships, and I I don't want to go down there and simply be nonfunctional," Platner said in response to a question from a supporter about who he is looking forward to working with in Washington, D.C., if elected in November.

"I mean, as you can all probably tell, we got a lot of criticisms about the way this government functions. But in order for us to make it functional, we're going to have to do stuff. And you can't just go down there and be John Fetterman and just and just kind of just sort of be an a--hole."

Platner added, "He’s said mean things about me, I'm allowed to say that."

JOHN FETTERMAN ERUPTS OVER 'CREEPER' GRAHAM PLATNER, SUGGESTING HE'S A 'NAZI SYMPATHIZER'

Platner and Fetterman have been going after each other in recent days with the Pennsylvania Democratic senator calling out the Maine progressive over his history of inflammatory remarks while challenging him to release messages linked to a Kik account that has become a flashpoint in his campaign.

"This is a guy that had a problem with me, how I dress, but he seemed to have no problem posing in a towel at a disgusting website that consistently had serious problems about that kinds of depravity," Fetterman, who has faced strong criticism from within his own party over his strident support for Israel, told ӣ��Ƶ host Sean Hannity.

PLATNER STILL HAS ACTIVE ACCOUNT ON ANONYMOUS APP DUBBED 'PREDATOR'S PARADISE' AMID CHEATING SCANDAL

The Democrat later challenged Platner to make public messages he allegedly exchanged with women on the platform.

"Let me make a deal. I'll tell P-Hustle, I'll wear a suit every day, if he releases all those texts and messages that he's had... [with] the dozen women," he continued, referencing Platner's username on the platform.

Over the weekend, Platner posted on X that "John Fetterman seems to genuinely think that the reason no one likes him is because he refuses to wear a suit."

"It's not the hoodie, dude. It's because you've become a stooge for AIPAC and the Republican Party."

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to Fetterman's office for comment.

Platner was not asked by the audience, nor did he bring up on his own, the various criticisms he has faced in recent months ranging from a Nazi tattoo, to deleted Reddit posts trashing the military, to sexual messages sent to other women during his marriage, to an explosive New York Times report where an accuser alleged that Platner exhibited "toxic" traits and was physically abusive toward her.

THE GROWING LIST OF CONTROVERSIES THREATENING DEMOCRAT GRAHAM PLATNER'S MAINE SENATE BID

"I am very much just some random guy from Sullivan, Maine," Platner told the raucous crowd of supporters shortly before receiving a standing ovation for claiming in November "we are going to beat Susan Collins."

Platner’s message to voters focused strongly on wealth inequality and painted a picture of a Congress that is beholden to the powerful as opposed to the voters.

"We must understand that we have entered a new phase in the American political story," Platner said. "We have entered an era that I think looks a lot more like the 1880s or the 1930s or the 1960s than the last 40 years. We have entered an age of a politics of power, and we need to start acting like it."

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If victorious, Platner will square off against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.

ӣ��Ƶ Digital’s Taylor Penley contributed to this report.

Susan Collins getting reelected is bigger concern than Graham Platner allegations, Texas Democrat claims

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 07:00:27 -0400

Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, claimed on Sunday that Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins concerned her "at an even greater level" than Graham Platner while discussing the latest scandal he is facing.

Escobar joined a panel on CNN's "State of the Union" to discuss the allegations of rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent episodes against Platner made by ex-girlfriends of his to the New York Times last week. As a member of Platner's party, Escobar admitted that the report "concerns" her but not as much as Collins retaining her seat.

"Of course it concerns me," Escobar said. "But I will also say what concerns me even at an even greater level is Susan Collins getting reelected. She has given cover and comfort to the most corrupt, incompetent president we've ever had. And, hopefully, the people of Maine will take away the seat from her, whoever the nominee is."

NYT PANEL DEBATES WHETHER GRAHAM PLATNER IS A ‘DIRTBAG’ OR DEMOCRATS’ ANSWER TO TRUMP-ERA POLITICS

Escobar went on to also use the report to attack Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton and his past controversies.

"And if folks are concerned about Mr. Platner, wait until they hear about the Senate candidate in my state, Ken Paxton. He is someone who I hope gets as much coverage as the Maine candidate is getting, because what we know in Texas about Ken Paxton is pretty horrifying, even people within his own party," Escobar said.

GRAHAM PLATNER DENIES DAMNING NEW REPORT ALLEGING ABUSE AS 'SIMPLY NOT TRUE'

ӣ��Ƶ Digital reached out to Collins and Paxton's respective offices for comment.

Platner continues to face backlash for several other past scandals, including a now-covered tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, several controversial Reddit posts attacking soldiers and several explicit messages sent to women while he was married.

PENNSYLVANIA DEM REP CLAIMS GRAHAM PLATNER 'HAS DISQUALIFIED HIMSELF' FROM MAINE SENATE RACE

Despite the growing list of scandals, several Democrats have chosen to defend and stand by Platner ahead of Maine's primary election, where he is expected to become the presumptive nominee. One prominent example included California Rep. Ro Khanna.

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"[H]e really grew as a person when he came back to Maine, and he was an oyster farmer," Khanna said in an interview with ӣ��Ƶ Digital. "And he found peace, and he is ashamed of that period. To me, that suggests someone taking accountability and improving their lives, and we need that redemption in this country. And I agree with a lot of his economic policies, that we should be taxing the billionaires, we should be focusing on the working class."

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