Maine’s under-fire Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner dismissed the mounting series of controversies rocking his campaign as “politically motivated” at a get-out-the-vote rally Friday.
Platner’s campaign is taking on water after being hit with a slew of troubling allegations this week. Republicans are pouring money into the campaign of his opponent, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), while a new poll shows his public image has cratered.
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On Friday, however, he aimed to shake off the week as he took to the stage in Bar Harbor to declare that Maine has his “back” when it comes to what he called the “weaponized” scandals.
“When hurtful things I said on the internet a decade ago came out into the public, as I shared my personal journey through PTSD and darkness of recovery and accountability and growth, Maine had my back. Now, as every single piece of that past and journey gets dug up, litigated, and weaponized, you have my back,” Platner said.
“When politically motivated, serious, and false accusations are made against me, Maine, you have my back. The state of Maine raised me, and the state of Maine saved me. And to all of you out there, Maine, I will always have your back,” Platner continued.
These were the only comments Platner made onstage Friday directly addressing the scandals related to women in his life that had been at the top of news cycles this week. Over the weekend, news broke that Platner had previously sent sexually explicit texts to other women while married to his wife, Amy Gertner. As that news swirled, the New York Times published the experiences of three women who dated Platner, detailing his alleged “unsettling” emotional abuse and toxic behavior. That report also alleged he knew that a now-covered-up tattoo he had was associated with the Nazis, despite protestations earlier in the campaign that he was oblivious.
In an MS Now interview on Thursday, Platner said the women’s allegations were false. One of the women who shared her story to the New York Times, however, slammed the article as one that was “twisted” into “a gift to the Platner campaign,” saying the reporters were “violating the trust of his victims.”
Khanna blasts Platner’s ‘toxic and volatile’ past
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who has endorsed Platner, hosted the Friday night rally. While sharing the stage with Platner, he brought up Platner’s PTSD and the effects of his Marine service in Iraq and Afghanistan but also maintained that “no one should make excuses for his past relationships.”
“No one should make excuses for his past relationships, some of which were toxic and volatile, and no one on our side should attack the women who came forward,” Khanna said.
The moment was a serious stump moment for Khanna, who gained much greater name recognition over the past year for championing the release of the Epstein files in the House to get justice for the victims of convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
“Democrats believe in respecting the equality and the dignity of women, and we always will,” Khanna said. “And we reject, unequivocally, misogyny. We reject it. And 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. He was ashamed of some of the things he said and did, and then he, unlike others, took accountability for it.”
Despite the mounting issues, Platner is still expected to win the party’s nomination on Tuesday. Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME), who earlier this year suspended her Senate campaign because she was trailing Platner by a wide margin, has reminded voters she is still on the ballot, but she is not actively campaigning.
Should Platner win, he will take on Collins in the November general election.
