Democrat Graham Platner faced his most serious crisis yet on Friday when he took the stage in Bar Harbor to rally supporters ahead of Tuesday's primary election. With fresh allegations of physical intimidation against women now public, the oyster farmer and former Marine insisted Maine voters would stick with him anyway.
The New York Times had reported Thursday that three of Platner's former romantic partners described troubling behavior toward them, including one account of being physically intimidated. Platner denied the allegations and told supporters his past was being weaponized by political opponents.
"When politically motivated, serious and false accusations are made against me, Maine, you have my back," Platner said during the 25-minute speech. "The state of Maine raised me. And the state of Maine saved me."
The first-time candidate attempting to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins has weathered multiple controversies in recent weeks. A Nazi SS tattoo he wore for years prompted initial backlash. He later acknowledged not understanding its meaning and has since had it removed. Most recently, revelations surfaced that he sent sexually explicit messages to women while married.
Platner framed his troubles as part of a recovery narrative. He referenced how he addressed past internet comments made a decade earlier while dealing with PTSD. "As every single piece of that past and journey gets dug up, litigated and weaponized, you have my back," he said.
Despite the mounting allegations, Platner retained backing from prominent Democrats. U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Ruben Gallego of Arizona have supported him. At Friday's event, U.S. House member Ro Khanna, a progressive from California, appeared alongside him.
Khanna acknowledged the broader issue without directly defending Platner's conduct. "We reject, unequivocally, misogyny," Khanna said. "But you know who else rejects it? Graham Platner. He understood that those years were not the best years of his life."
Some voters appeared willing to move past the controversy. Galen Lowe told the Portland Press Herald he found it refreshing that Platner acknowledged his mistakes and claimed to be working toward self-improvement.
Not everyone agreed. A former Platner campaign staffer told the Associated Press that the candidate had been "sexting multiple women while married" and that his campaign assessed the behavior as an electoral vulnerability. Two feminist political groups, the National Organization for Women Pac and Vote for Equality, called on Maine voters to support Governor Janet Mills instead, who is still on the ballot after withdrawing from the Senate race.
Some of Mills' backers are pushing her to fully reenter the competition. An unnamed source close to the governor told NBC News on Friday that she remains on the ballot and that people across Maine are encouraging her to get back into the race following this week's revelations.
The Democratic primary Tuesday is shaping up as critical for party efforts to retake congressional control during the second half of Donald Trump's presidency.
Author James Rodriguez: "Platner's confidence that Maine will overlook multiple credible controversies in a single week reads as dangerously misplaced, and his supporters' willingness to excuse everything as political theater is the real story here."
Comments