Platner Tells Maine Voters: ‘Have My Back’

Graham Platner, the insurgent Democratic candidate in Maine’s U.S. Senate primary, told supporters Friday that voters will stand by him despite a wave of reports about his history involving women and allegations connected to his marriage. With Tuesday’s primar

BAR HARBOR, Maine — Graham Platner stepped in front of a crowd of hundreds in a coastal Maine resort town on Friday and struck a defiant tone as his campaign headed into Tuesday’s Senate primary.

With a steady drumbeat of reports about his history with women filling the news cycle. Platner. a first-time candidate running to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins, framed the moment as a test of loyalty and redemption. “When politically motivated, serious and false accusations are made against me, Maine, you have my back,” Platner said. “The state of Maine raised me. And the state of Maine saved me.”.

His remarks landed just as his campaign was contending with new attention to his past. Last weekend. stories tied to sexually explicit messages Platner sent to several women while he was married raised fresh alarm among Democrats. Then on Thursday. The New York Times reported on relationships he had with previous girlfriends. with some people describing him as volatile and insulting even as others viewed him more positively.

One woman alleged that Platner twisted her arm during an argument and locked her in a room. Platner called that allegation untrue.

For all the scrutiny, the standing ovation he received before he even started speaking suggested the party faithful in the room were not backing away. Some Democrats, too, said the stakes are too high to lose momentum in the push to take control of the U.S. Senate.

Platner is the last remaining candidate for the Democratic nomination after Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign. The crowd on Friday appeared eager to rally behind a nominee Democrats believe can mount a serious challenge to Collins in November.

“I’ve always believed in redemption. And so, I just think people deserve a second chance, and should be allowed to continue changing,” said Brendan O’Keefe of Seal Cove.

Galen Lowe of Bar Harbor said he believed Platner was telling voters what happened. “It’s refreshing to have someone actually own up to stuff that they’ve done and say, yeah, that wasn’t such a great idea. I’m working to be a better person,” Lowe said.

At the event. Platner positioned himself as Democrats’ best chance to unseat Collins while tying his political case to a broader message of progress. He appeared Friday evening alongside progressive Rep. Ro Khanna of California, and with Democratic candidates for U.S. House and governor, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, who hosted an earlier event with Platner in Orono, Maine on Sunday, May 24, 2026.

Khanna, speaking in front of the gathering, said, “We reject, unequivocally, misogyny. But you know who else rejects it? Graham Platner. He understood that those years that he came back were not the best years of his life.”

Under pressure, Platner’s defenders see more than politics. But voters are also listening for what could come next.

In the latest round of scrutiny, Platner faced questions that resurfaced after reports that he and his wife, Amy Gertner, experienced marital difficulties and sought counseling after he allegedly sent sexually explicit text messages to other women.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Gertner told the campaign in August about the messages. The reporting said she discovered the messages on Platner’s phone last year. and she raised the issue to ensure it wasn’t a liability to the campaign. Platner and Gertner married in 2023. and the campaign team reportedly decided the texts were private and were being handled by the couple.

Genevieve McDonald, a former campaign staffer for Platner, told The Associated Press that the candidate was “sexting multiple women while married” and that “the campaign tried to assess that as an election vulnerability.”

Shortly after the news broke, Platner posted a five-minute video recorded by Gertner. She did not speak directly about her husband’s reported texts, but she described the broader coverage as “gossip” and said “being married is hard.”

For some women, Gertner’s openness about working on her marriage has struck a chord. Others say the situation should stay private.

Joanne Mason, a local Democratic leader from south-central Maine, said, “It’s none of my business as far as I’m concerned,” adding that she hoped people would not judge an individual based on private marriage matters.

Valerie Tate, a Democrat from Belfast, described Gertner’s comments about mental health and marriage as admirable. “That is not a scandal,” Tate wrote in an email. “That is integrity. Personal growth is not a disqualification from public life. For many of us, it is precisely what made us worthy of it.”.

Even Tate, though, said she did not feel fully at ease. “Of course, there is that concern as there would be in any race with somebody we don’t know all the dramas and the journeys they’ve been on,” she wrote. “Something could come out that would be disqualifying.”

The questions around Platner’s past are not confined to the most recent reports. He has faced scrutiny before. including for a tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol that he covered up after starting his campaign. Platner said he didn’t realize the meaning of the tattoo. while a former girlfriend told The Times that he joked about it being a Nazi symbol and called it “my Totenkopf.”.

He has also drawn attention to former Reddit posts that were dismissive of military sexual assaults and used homophobic slurs. Platner apologized for those posts.

As revelations have continued, at least two feminist political groups — National Organization for Women PAC and Vote for Equality — encouraged Maine voters to vote for Mills, who remains on the ballot.

Platner has never held elected office. His campaign has leaned into a progressive. populist-style message focused on issues such as income inequality. lack of health care accessibility. and the rising cost of housing. He has drawn thousands at rallies and campaign events, and his fundraising has generated millions to fuel his message.

Still, the party’s concerns linger in the background as the primary approaches.

Deb Dagnan, chair of Maine’s Piscataquis County Democrats, said some Democrats are waiting to see whether more controversy will emerge. “I think a lot of people are afraid,” she said. “They’re waiting for the other shoe to drop after he gets the nomination. Then what do we do?”

Graham Platner Maine Senate primary Susan Collins Janet Mills Amy Gertner sexting allegations National Organization for Women PAC Vote for Equality Bernie Sanders Ro Khanna U.S. Senate Maine politics