Platner Exes Tell Times of Unsettling Behavior Past

Multiple women who dated Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner told The New York Times this week that they experienced behavior they described as demeaning, volatile, and sometimes physically threatening—details they said echo offensive posts and cheating alle

A sharp change in tone arrived with the morning news cycle: not new polling, not a new ad buy—just a cluster of stories from women who say they lived with Graham Platner in private.

This week. The New York Times published accounts from more than two dozen people it spoke with for a Thursday story. including six women who said they dated the Maine Democratic Senate candidate. Three of those women—describing relationships with him over years—said his behavior they recalled sometimes included demeaning women. cheating. heavy drinking. and in one case being physically threatening.

One of those women. described as a Virginia conservative. said Platner was abusive and “cavalierly contemptuous of women’s emotions.” Another. a Maine liberal. said she “recognized a version of him that I had experiences with” when she saw his old posts online. A third woman, a Maine Democrat, said she felt like “collateral damage to the world that is his.”.

Platner, a combat veteran, responded through an interview with HuffPost and a written statement. He said he was in “a dark place” when he dated those women and that he “was a far from perfect boyfriend.” In the statement. he said. “I take responsibility for all of that. and wish I had been better. Any characterization beyond that is false. and I believe. politically motivated. ” adding: “I’m not proud of who I was then. but I am proud of the work I’ve done since. and the movement we are building in Maine.”.

The reporting lands in the middle of a race Democrats need to win to take back control of the upper chamber. Platner launched his campaign as a populist oyster farmer to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins—a major contest for the Senate. Since he entered the race. he has faced scandal over past social media posts that objectified women and dismissed sexual assault.

Plagued by those earlier controversies, Platner apologized, saying he had been struggling at the time with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder after leaving the military.

For Jenny Racicot, one of the women who described her relationship with him in Maine, the old posts carried a familiar resonance. “I was like, this makes sense,” Racicot, who said she dated Platner off and on from 2019 to 2021, told the Times. “This person does not respect women.”

The new accounts also come as the campaign absorbs other allegations that have already been widely reported. Both The Times and The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Amy Gertner. whom Platner married in 2023. tried to warn his campaign at the beginning of his candidacy that potentially damaging information existed—specifically that her husband sent sexually explicit messages to multiple other women.

After those reports, Gertner posted a video defending her husband and said the two are in a better place now, saying counseling helped. The story also notes that Platner acknowledged the couple had been previously struggling in their marriage.

Another controversy continues to shadow Platner: a skull and crossbones tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol he got on his chest while serving abroad in the Marines. Platner said he was unaware it was a Nazi symbol and immediately got it covered up. though one of the women speaking to the Times this week disputed that account.

Lyndsey Fifield, who said she dated Platner from 2013 to 2015 in Washington, told the paper she “would never have known what that was.” She said Platner would joke about the Totenkopf being a Nazi tattoo.

Fifield also described physical conduct in her account. saying he would sometimes be physically rough with her but that he never injured her. Platner “strongly disputes” that. She also claimed he repeatedly said he’d rape anyone who broke into the home to show dominance; the Times reported the campaign didn’t dispute that.

The campaign told HuffPost that Fifield is “a lifelong GOP operative” dedicated to electing Republicans. While Fifield has worked for many Republican candidates, she said she has no connection to Collins’ campaign. “I know it looks like a bitter ex-girlfriend Republican trying to take down a Democrat — it has nothing to do with that. ” she told the Times. “If he was running as a Republican, I would be doing this exact same thing.”.

Still, Platner has maintained strong support in parts of the political left. The article notes he has backing from major progressives including Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). On the ground in Maine, Gov. Janet Mills has made clear she remains on the ballot for the June 9 Democratic primary.

Outside the campaign, some of Platner’s other ex-girlfriends have publicly defended him and remain friends with him. For now. the accounts published this week have given his Democratic rivals and critics fresh material—and for supporters. a painful new question of how to weigh personal allegations against political momentum as the Senate race moves closer.

Graham Platner Maine politics Susan Collins Senate race Janet Mills June 9 Democratic primary The New York Times HuffPost Bernie Sanders Elizabeth Warren Amy Gertner Nazi tattoo Totenkopf domestic violence hotline