BAR HARBOR, Maine (AP) 鈥� Graham Platner, the insurgent Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, defiantly declared Friday that voters would stand by him despite a steady drumbeat of reports about his history with women.
Speaking to a crowd of hundreds in a costal resort town, with Tuesday’s primary around the corner, the first-time candidate pitched himself as a man with an imperfect past who remains Democrats’ best chance to oust Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.
鈥淲hen politically motivated, serious and false accusations are made against me, Maine, you have my back,鈥� Platner said. 鈥淭he state of Maine raised me. And the state of Maine saved me.鈥�
Last weekend, his campaign wrestled with stories about sexually explicit messages that Platner sent to several women while he was married. Then on Thursday, about his relationships with previous girlfriends. Some viewed him positively but others described him as volatile and insulting.
One woman said Platner twisted her arm during an argument and locked her in a room. Platner called that allegation untrue.
While some Democrats have been alarmed by Platner鈥檚 checkered past, there was little hesitation in Friday鈥檚 crowd, which gave Platner a standing ovation before he even started talking.
Platner is the last candidate in the running for the nomination after Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign, and the party faithful appear they hope can defeat Collins. Some argued that the need for Democrats to take back control of the U.S. Senate is too important to cast aside flawed candidates.
鈥淚鈥檝e always believed in redemption. And so, I just think people deserve a second chance, and should be allowed to continue changing,鈥� said Brendan O’Keefe of Seal Cove.
Galen Lowe of Bar Harbor said he believed that Platner was leveling with voters about his past.
鈥淚t鈥檚 refreshing to have someone actually own up to stuff that they鈥檝e done and say, yeah, that wasn鈥檛 such a great idea. I鈥檓 working to be a better person,” he said.
Key to the Senate
Platner is key to Democrats hopes’ to win a Senate majority, and he’s maintained support from prominent politicians like Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Ruben Gallego. He appeared Friday evening with progressive Rep. Ro Khanna of California, as well as Democratic candidates for U.S. House and governor.
鈥淲e reject, unequivocally, misogyny. But you know who else rejects it? Graham Platner,” Khanna said. 鈥淗e understood that those years that he came back were not the best years of his life.鈥�
Platner faced renewed scrutiny last weekend after reports that he and his wife, Amy Gertner, have after he allegedly sent sexually explicit text messages to other women.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Gertner had told the campaign in August about the messages, which she had discovered on his phone last year, to make sure they weren鈥檛 a liability to the campaign. Platner鈥檚 campaign team reportedly decided that the texts were private and being handled by the couple, who were married in 2023.
Genevieve McDonald, a former campaign staffer for Platner, told The Associated Press that the candidate was 鈥渟exting multiple women while married鈥� and that 鈥渢he campaign tried to assess that as an election vulnerability.鈥�
Shortly after the news came out, Platner posted a five-minute video taken by Gertner, who avoided speaking directly about her husband鈥檚 reported texts but dubbed the broader coverage as 鈥済ossip鈥� and said 鈥渂eing married is hard.鈥�
Voters worry that more scandals lurk
Gertner’s emotional comments about working on her marriage have resonated with some women, who say they are shocked that a former campaign aide would betray someone’s trust and the issue should remain between the couple.
鈥淚t鈥檚 none of my business as far as I鈥檓 concerned,鈥� said Joanne Mason, a local Democratic leader from south-central Maine. 鈥淎nd I would hope that people wouldn鈥檛 judge any one person on their own private marriage.鈥�
Valerie Tate, a Democrat from Belfast, described Gertner’s honesty about trying to work on their mental health and marriage as admirable.
鈥淭hat is not a scandal,鈥� Tate wrote in an email. 鈥淭hat is integrity. Personal growth is not a disqualification from public life. For many of us, it is precisely what made us worthy of it.鈥�
However, Tate conceded that her mind wasn鈥檛 fully at ease. With the public still learning about Platner鈥檚 past, there is a chance something could emerge as a dealbreaker for voters.
鈥淥f course, there is that concern as there would be in any race with somebody we don鈥檛 know all the dramas and the journeys they鈥檝e been on,” she wrote. “Something could come out that would be disqualifying.鈥�
Past controversies simmer
This isn鈥檛 the first time Platner has faced questions about his past. He had a , which he had covered up after starting his campaign.
Platner has said he didn’t realize the meaning of the tattoo. However, a former girlfriend told the Times he joked about it being a Nazi symbol and called it 鈥渕y Totenkopf.鈥�
There鈥檚 also been much attention on Platner’s former Reddit posts, which were dismissive of military sexual assaults and used homophobic slurs, for which he has apologized.
As revelations have emerged around Platner, at least two feminist political groups 鈥� National Organization for Women PAC and Vote for Equality 鈥� encouraged Maine voters to vote for Mills, who will still appear on the ballot.
Platner has never held elected office and has fashioned a progressive, populist-style campaign focusing on issues such as income inequality, lack of health care accessibility and the rising cost of housing. In return, he’s attracted thousands at his rallies and campaign events and collected millions in campaign funds to further boost his messaging.
But some Democrats are also wrestling with the question of whether more controversial information surrounding Platner could come out ahead of the November election.
鈥淚 think a lot of people are afraid,鈥� said Deb Dagnan, chair of Maine鈥檚 Piscataquis County Democrats. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e waiting for the other shoe to drop after he gets the nomination. Then what do we do?鈥�
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Kruesi reported from Providence, Rhode Island.
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