Stewart warns Democrats backing Platner face rude Maine voter

Democrats backing – Maine Republican Sen. Trey Stewart says Democrats defending Senate candidate Graham Platner will hit a wall with Maine voters in November, pointing to deleted posts, alleged slurs, and comments he says disparage veterans. Stewart insists Susan Collins will hol

When voters in Maine look at the choice looming in November. Trey Stewart doesn’t think they’ll be persuaded by the defense coming from the Democratic side. He’s warning that the party is backing Graham Platner—the candidate he describes as “selling their soul”—and that the backlash with Maine voters is coming whether Democrats like it or not.

Stewart. a five-term incumbent Republican state senator. pointed to mounting criticisms of Platner that have been circulating as the general election approaches. He cited deleted social posts in which Platner described himself as a “communist” and “socialist. ” used alleged homophobic slurs. and disparaged the military.

“The voters care a lot. ” Stewart told Fox News Digital. arguing that Platner’s support is coming from what he called “extreme liberal Democrats” who “can’t see past defeating Susan Collins at any cost.” In Stewart’s view. that strategy amounts to endorsing someone whose background he says contradicts what Maine voters want.

Stewart went further. saying Democrats are defending a candidate who he alleges has ties to extremist imagery and a record of harsh remarks. He said Platner has a tattoo “affiliated with the Nazis” on his chest. has made slanderous remarks. and has drawn particularly fierce condemnation for comments he described as “really pretty ugly and horrifying remarks about veterans who have been injured in combat.” He also criticized Platner for what he called “racist and bigoted statements” and statements he characterized as misogynist.

Stewart said the outcome, however, should not surprise anyone familiar with Maine politics. He expressed confidence that Susan Collins—an influential incumbent Republican senator—will remain “victorious” in a “middle-of-the-road” state.

“That’s because Maine, at the end of the day, is a middle-of-the-road state,” Stewart said.

Even as Platner has shown strength in polls, Stewart argued that Maine tends to reject candidates at the far ends of the spectrum. He said Platner’s “extreme position” will not be rewarded by voters in November.

This would not be the first time Collins has faced a progressive challenger surging in the race. In 2020. Stewart noted. Collins trailed former Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon in polling “consistently. ” at times by double digits. before still winning re-election. The difference in 2024 and beyond. Stewart suggested. is that Maine voters will not follow the Democratic ticket into what he sees as an ideologically extreme direction.

Stewart’s warning is also about more than one candidate. He tied his criticism to what he described as the Democratic Party’s broader trajectory. In his telling, defending Platner reflects a party that has moved into a dangerous political posture—one he believes Maine voters won’t accept.

“I find it highly embarrassing that this is where the Democrat party is. not just in the state of Maine. but across the country at this point. ” Stewart said. describing the effort to push back on criticism of Platner as “tail-wagging-the-dog.” He said the Democratic choice signals “soul-searching” that he expects to become “a very dangerous place” for the party and “a very dangerous place for our country.”.

Platner, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, has become the center of scrutiny—particularly over social media posts that critics say he has not adequately addressed. Republicans have accused him of failing to explain or apologize for deleted content.

Stewart pointed to a specific instance from June 2019. saying Platner mocked a video of Purple Heart veteran Teddy Daniels being shot four times during a 2012 clash with Taliban fighters. adding that Platner wrote Daniels “didn’t deserve to live.” Stewart said Platner declined to apologize or acknowledge regret over the comment in a video taken by Fox News Digital over the weekend.

“This is not the right course of action that he should be taking,” Stewart said. “If anything, he owes a number of apologies to the people who he has said highly offensive things to. But beyond that, certainly United States Senate is something that is completely out of grasp for an individual like this.”.

Stewart also argued that Platner’s ambitions do not match the seriousness of the office. “He really just needs help,” Stewart said. “He doesn’t need a seat in the United States Senate.”

The campaign’s situation shifted after Democratic Gov. Janet Mills announced she would end her campaign for Senate last month. With that decision. Platner became the Democrats’ presumptive nominee in the June 9 primary. the contest that selected who would face Susan Collins in November. Fox News Digital reached out to the Platner campaign for comment.

For Stewart, the larger fight is now about whether voters will accept the Democratic nomination in a state he describes as resistant to extremes—especially when the controversies have put veterans and offensive remarks at the center of the debate.

Trey Stewart Graham Platner Susan Collins Maine Senate deleted posts veterans June 9 primary Janet Mills election 2024 Marine Corps veteran