Platner fuels anxieties among Democrats as Maine picks its candidate

Democrats are feeling a mix of anxiety and unease heading into Tuesday’s primary in Maine when it comes to Graham Platner, the oyster farmer and political neophyte whose campaign has been plagued by a series of controversies.

While the revelations about Platner’s past have rattled Democrats who are eager to flip the Senate seat in November, some say they have done little to tarnish Platner’s standing with primary voters.

Platner is favored to win Tuesday’s contest, and Democrats said it appeared that many in their party were willing to set aside their concerns to defeat GOP Sen. Susan Collins in November.

“I think nationally, there are a lot of nervous Democrats, and the concern is not ill-founded because Maine is so important to winning the Senate in 2026,” Democratic strategist Joel Payne said. “That said, I’m not sure I’ve seen overwhelming, compelling evidence that what is happening with him is disqualifying.”

“If he can get this campaign back to being a referendum on Susan Collins, it’s a very winnable race,” Payne said.

The key factor for Democrats to watch is how big the protest vote is for Gov. Janet Mills, who left the Democratic primary race last month but is still on the ballot.

The New York Times published a report last week detailing accounts from three women who said they were in “toxic” relationships with Platner. One woman described Platner as being overly physical. Platner has denied anything physical.

That report came on the heels of revelations several days earlier that Platner had sent sexually explicit messages to women who were not his wife.

Last fall, Platner also had to apologize after some Democrats were angered over a tattoo he had resembling a Nazi symbol, which he has since covered.

“He’s not my ideal choice for a candidate,” said one Democratic strategist who predicted that other controversies may still emerge.

Republicans have pounced on the string of controversies in the lead-up to Tuesday’s primary.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) said he found Platner’s history with women “very, very troubling” in a Sunday interview on CNN.  In a Sunday interview on Fox News, Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) said Platner was representative of the Democratic Party’s “extreme” candidates in the midterm elections.

“Who would have thought you could be misogynist, have allegations of violence against women … and have the mainstream of the party endorsing you?” McCormick said.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who campaigned for Platner last week, called on Democrats to acknowledge Platner’s behavior but quickly pivot back to the issues voters care most about.

“We should focus on acknowledging that it was misogynistic, acknowledging it was wrong, moving on with redemption,” Khanna said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Asked by The Hill on Monday about how Platner will fare in the primary, Khanna said, “His platform of opposing foreign wars and genocide, taxing billionaires and standing for Medicare for All is resonating across Maine.”

At a rally over the weekend alongside Khanna, Platner said his past was being “weaponized” by his opponents and thanked his supporters for standing by him.

“Maine, you have my back,” Platner told the crowd. “As every single piece of [my] past and journey gets dug up, litigated and weaponized, you have my back.”

Democrats interviewed by The Hill on Monday pointed to other scandal-ridden candidates on both sides of the aisle, including Ken Paxton in Texas and even President Trump — who has spent years denying a slew of personal allegations — as indicating the electorate is not focused on such issues.

“Voters are giving them a little bit more of a pass on these things,” Democratic strategist Hyma Moore said.

“He’s made a lot of headway with regular Maine Democrats who see him as the guy who is not a regular politician but happens to speak their language.”

Moore predicted that Platner will do “fairly well” in the primary and that his goal should be “to drive those numbers up as much as possible” to prove that he’s on solid footing heading into the general election.

Moore said one key factor will be where the candidate ends up with white women and also whether he’s able to win men — particularly young men —ahead of his match-up with Collins.

A University of Massachusetts at Lowell/YouGov poll last week showed that Platner has a small lead over Collins, with 48 percent of respondents favoring him, while 43 percent said they support the Republican senator.

The strategist said while Platner holds the lead, Collins can easily come back, particularly if the controversies continue.

“She has always been pretty savvy in knowing what her state wants,” the strategist said.

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