Then, Mainers voted. Collins not only pulled off the “upset,” she did so comfortably, prevailing by 9 points. To actually beat her this time around, Democratic leaders concluded, their party should nominate the sitting female governor of the state. Collins would finally meet her match, especially in a blue-tinted midterm year.

Democratic voters in Maine, it turns out, had different ideas. Over the course of the nominating process, they gravitated toward a political newcomer, rejecting their own governor so forcefully that she saw the writing on the wall and suspended her campaign weeks before the primary election took place. The upstart neophyte was on a glide path to carrying his party’s mantle in the Senate race. His rise didn’t seem significantly interrupted by upheaval within his campaign, including some high-profile resignations, driven by various ugly revelations about his past.

The party’s base remained enraptured by his left-wing proposals, his obsessive opposition to Israel, and his aggressive, if largely phony, “blue-collar” persona. Despite all the turbulence and controversy, Democratic voters decided they’ve got their man. His name is Graham Platner. And on Tuesday, they overwhelmingly nominated him to face Collins in November.

Among the scandals that follow Platner into the general election is the matter of an infamous tattoo on his chest. A leftist talking head on television minimized it as a “weird tattoo.” NBC’s Today called it “a tattoo that some say resembles a Nazi symbol.” Platner claims he just recently discovered the significance of the emblem, having finally been enlightened after nearly two decades of looking at it in the mirror every day. They’re spinning, and he’s lying. According to a long-term ex-girlfriend — I’ve disclosed that I know her — quoted in the New York Times, Platner, years ago, was referring to the problematic ink as “my Totenkopf,” the German term for “death’s head,” describing an icon embraced by the Nazi SS unit that ran the death camps during World War II. If he was calling his tattoo by its German name long ago, he is lying through his teeth now.

Could she be the one who’s lying? After all, as the New York Times noted, she is a conservative-aligned political activist. Platner himself has suggested that some of her accusations could be motivated by partisan interests. This deflection ignores that another former girlfriend quoted in the outlet about his disturbing behavior is politically progressive.

Setting that aside, however, on its own terms, is there a way to weigh the right-leaning ex’s credibility against Platner’s on this point? There is. She provided the New York Times with time-stamped text messages in which she identified his Nazi tattoo as such before Platner insists he first learned about its dark connotations. After that article appeared, Platner did a damage control interview with MS Now, in which he was confronted with this timeline. How could Platner’s ex-girlfriend have texted friends that he “has a Nazi tattoo on his chest” and “it’s a Totenkopf” in August 2025 if Platner says he didn’t find out that his own tattoo was a Nazi Totenkopf until months later, in October 2025?

“Well, she certainly didn’t send that text to me,” was the candidate’s feeble reply. His half-baked implication is that a woman from his fairly distant past knew all about his Nazi tattoo, somehow without his knowledge, and kept those details from him. He doubled down on his denial, saying “I did not” when asked point-blank if he knew about the tattoo’s Nazi significance and symbolism.

“Any statement saying that I did know is, again, totally false,” he said.

That may be ludicrously far-fetched, but is it at least conceivably plausible? It is not, according to CNN reporting. A local outlet in Maine relayed that CNN had uncovered past posts by Platner on Reddit suggesting he knew for years it was a Nazi symbol. Those since-deleted posts were published years ago. The combined evidence has him dead to rights. Platner says he didn’t know about the Totenkopf-Nazi symbolism until last fall, but he was discussing that subject online years prior to that, and his ex-girlfriend was texting friends about the previous spring.

Will any of this matter to voters? Based on Platner’s lopsided primary victory, after all of this had been litigated, most Democrats either support him more fervently than ever, do not care about what has been exposed, or are willing to stick with him.

Nevertheless, a sizable minority of Maine Democratic primary voters, more than a quarter of them, cast ballots for other options in this race. Perhaps most of them will “come home” and back their party’s choice in the final analysis. But if substantial numbers of them peel off for Collins — a stable, known commodity, and perhaps the most liberal Republican in Congress —  that could empower her to pull off another win, especially if Republicans stay united behind her and independents break her way. A handful of surveys published in the last week show a tightened race, virtual ties, and surging negatives for Platner.

For his part, the Democratic nominee is telling voters that in spite of his troubled past, he’s a transformed man. He’s hoping to win over waverers with a redemption tale. People can change, and Americans tend to believe in second chances, but is his claimed shift authentic?

It’s impossible to know what’s in a man’s heart, though we do know what’s tattooed on this man’s heart. The clear, compelling proof that he’s continuing to lie about the Nazi SS death camp logo that he permanently attached to his body does not speak well of the notion that his character has improved, or that any sense of contrition is genuine. If one is willing to shamelessly lie about one’s Nazi tattoo, even when fully cornered, has one truly turned a moral or ethical corner?

And he is demonstrably lying about this. Not far back through the mists of time, but actively, right now. Also, would a man of restored character maintain a refusal to do the decent thing and apologize to this man?

As for his treatment of women — rumors are still swirling that voters haven’t heard the last of allegations against him — the curated “redemption” story is also complicated by his very recent and prolific “sexting” conduct with up to a dozen women, discovered by his wife and overlapping with the short period of their current marriage.

That’s their private business, but layered on top of his “I’m a new man” act and all the other baggage, it’s a data point for assessing his honesty.

PLATNER IS UNFIT FOR DUTY: THE MAINE DEMOCRAT WOULD BE BEYOND THE PALE IN ANY OTHER ERA

On a final and related note: It has recently been revealed that Platner has, for years, had an active profile and account on Kik, an anonymous and encrypted platform said to be frequented by minors. It’s been described as a “predator’s paradise.” It’s unclear what Platner used this account for, but we do know how Platner presented himself on it. His profile picture is of himself, shirtless, in a bath towel. In the selfie-style mirror photograph, he appears to be intentionally obstructing a portion of his chest.

Any guesses on what resides on that exact portion of his chest?