For Democrats, the road to Maine’s Senate primary is paved with fear.
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Since Gov. Janet Mills abruptly halted her campaign in late April, all Graham Platner had to do was slip into Tuesday’s election to lock up the state’s Democratic Senate nomination. But some lawmakers and activists say they are increasingly alarmed by the breadth and depth of controversies and scandals facing veterans, and divisions within the party widen by the day.
Some Democrats were nervous about what the next debate would be, worried that the candidate was too dangerous to face their party’s bunting, longtime Republican Susan Collins.
Some were already working on a mechanism to fill in for Platner if he declines a ticket when the next shoe goes on sale Thursday afternoon.
In a lengthy report, The New York Times interviewed three of Mr. Platner’s former girlfriends, who described his behavior as “toxic” and sometimes “disturbing.” One woman, Lindsey Fifield, recounted an argument during a date from approximately 2013 to 2015 in which Platner “put her arm behind her back, forced her into the bedroom, closed the door from the other side so she couldn’t get out, and told her to stay there until she ‘calmed down.'” Fifield also claimed that Platner knew the meaning of the Nazi tattoo, which he has since hidden.
NBC News has not confirmed the details of the Times report.
Platner responded to the article with a statement denying some of the allegations. His campaign said he has no intention of withdrawing from the race.
“Throughout this campaign, I have been open about a very dark period in my life where I suffered from undiagnosed PTSD, frequently self-medicated with alcohol, and was far from the perfect boyfriend,” he said. “I take responsibility for all of that, and I wish I could have been better. I believe any further characterization is false and politically motivated. I’m not proud of who I was then, but I’m proud of the work I’ve done since then and the movement we’re building in Maine.”
Platner campaign officials most pointedly responded to comments questioning the motives of one of the women — Republican Lindsey Fifield, who made some of the article’s most serious allegations.
“To be clear, she is a lifelong Republican and has dedicated her career to electing Republicans,” the official said.
Fifield is affiliated with Independent Women, a conservative women’s organization. She also worked at the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation and Nikki Haley’s 2024 Republican presidential campaign. She told the Times that she has not received compensation from any political group since then.
Mr. Fifield did not respond to a request for comment. Another ex-girlfriend named in the article for making critical comments about Mr. Platner, Maine Democratic Party member Jenny Racicot, also did not respond to a request for comment.
Platner said in an interview on MS NOW Thursday night that some of the claims in the Times article are “absolutely not true.”
“Anything that claims physical characteristics or that I knew what my tattoo was is the statement of someone who is politically motivated,” he said. He also insisted that he had not considered withdrawing from the race at any point in the past week.
“No, not once,” Platner said.
In Maine, candidates can be replaced after the primary, but candidates must first withdraw.
Democrats were still digesting the new report Thursday night, but initial reactions ranged from calls for Mr. Platner to step down to hounding his supporters. So far, there has been no mass defection of those who supported him.
Mr. Platner intends to hold a rally scheduled for Friday in Bar Harbor, and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who was scheduled to attend with Mr. Platner, plans to continue attending, according to people familiar with the plans.
“The actions described in the New York Times article were wrong and harmful,” Khanna said in a statement. “Mr. Graham recognized that and called for relief. The people of Maine deserve a senator who stands up against the billionaire class, against genocide, and stands up for the working class.”
Similarly, some Plattner supporters continued to advance.
“It’s much harder to exclude us because we know the guy. We’ve met the guy,” said Democratic state Rep. Vali Geiger, who described Plattner as a generational talent.
Like other Platner supporters, Geiger dismissed some of Fifield’s claims.
Mr. Geiger, who appeared in one of Mr. Platner’s campaign ads praising his support for rape kit legislation, said he became “more supportive of him” just as voters were casting their ballots ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
She said she spoke with Platner after news broke over the weekend that he had exchanged explicit text messages with women early in their marriage (Platner and his wife married in November 2023), but declined to provide details of the conversation.
Mr. Guyger accused the mainstream media of colluding to derail his campaign.
“Is it stripping people of their minds? Sure,” Geiger said, adding, “But for a lot of people, it just makes us even angrier.”
Party anger swirls
From Maine to Washington, Democrats expressed frustration with a series of controversies stemming from Platner’s camp. These have galvanized many of his longtime critics, who have also opposed his left-wing populist views.
“There are a lot of red flags in this race, and those red flags continue to grow,” said Matt Bennett of Third Way, a Democratic think tank that supported Mills. “We’ve been concerned for a long time that we could lose that seat, and we don’t feel good about that today.”
Carol Eisenberg, a Maine attorney and supporter of Mills, said she was concerned that the latest reports about Platner could “hurt Democratic prospects” against Collins. She said she hopes “that he withdraws from the race so the Democratic Party can put forward a better candidate,” and believes all of the Democrats running for governor could be good replacements.
“He deserves sympathy for his trauma,” Eisenberg said. “And lots of therapy. And AA. But no Senate seat.”
Adam Cote, who ran against Mills in the 2018 primary and did not support him in the Senate primary, said he believes the situation will become clearer over the next week or so.
“I don’t know if this is a situation where he gets slashed by 1,000 people or something like that,” Cote said. “Here he is organizing a movement, but he’s a bit of a Teflon candidate in the sense that people are more motivated by his message and the way he delivers it.”
Cote said Democrats are “openly discussing” how to navigate the Platner controversy, with some arguing that the movement is a priority, while others have suggested supporting Platner would weaken criticism of scandal-plagued Republicans, including President Donald Trump.
But other Democrats said President Trump’s scandalous history gives him some breathing room, given that the real estate mogul rose to the nation’s highest office despite facing multiple allegations of serious sexual misconduct. Although they were quick to say there was only one Trump, supporters described the Platner movement as a movement that could withstand the most brutal body blows.
Mr. Platner has been experiencing volatility since last year. Last fall, the campaign’s political director, finance director and campaign manager all resigned after it was revealed that Platner’s prolific posts on Reddit contained many controversial comments.
These included making light of sexual assault, criticizing police and rural America, and writing that he had “turned a communist.” Platner apologized for his comments about sexual assault and dismissed other comments as “stupid joke comments.” He blamed his posts on his battle with post-traumatic stress and depression stemming from his service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A Democratic official involved in the midterm election campaign said Mr. Platner had shown a steady display of “arrogance” and said it was “disappointing on many levels.”
“We like charm, we like integrity, we like people who can break the mold, but we usually like candidates who can win,” said this person, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “The party recognized there were serious red flags. The math here is that this is a must-win seat, and with the Senate at stake, a safer candidate is the best bet. I don’t say it often, but I think some people owe Chuck Schumer an apology in this case.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York endorsed Mills over Plattner. After the two sides met in Washington on Tuesday, Schumer dodged reporters’ questions about the text message controversy.
“I supported Graham Platner,” Schumer said. “We’re going to defeat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.”
David Farmer, a veteran Maine Democratic strategist who is not involved in the Senate race, said Thursday, before the Times article broke, that many Maine Democrats were worried about further revelations and that rumors of other allegations were “pervasive.”
“A lot of his fanaticism still holds true,” Farmer said. “But I think you can kind of have a hunch about what’s going to happen.”
Longtime Maine Democrats say Mr. Platner’s supporters are very dissatisfied with the status quo and are willing to accept some baggage, but are concerned about how recent revelations will affect independent voters who have flocked to Collins in the past.
“They need change. They need someone different. Because what’s going on in Washington right now is a crime. Not because people love Nazi tattoos. We need fresh faces. We need fresh perspectives,” the Democrat said. “The people who are concerned are the people who are thinking more realistically: How are we going to win in November? I think most voters are saying, ‘I know he’s not perfect, but can he win?'”
Mills supporters wait in the wings of the stage
For Mills supporters, the latest news regarding Platner was no surprise.
“He doesn’t want you to believe in women. He wants you to believe in him,” said Peggy Shafer, a former deputy leader of the Maine Democratic Party who recently cast a primary vote for Mills.
“I don’t know if that’s going to change the race here. That guy should be honest with us. If there’s more to go down, we need to know that before the primary, and the primary is Tuesday,” she said.
Schaefer said in a text message late Thursday that he believes Mills’ close friends and supporters want her to return to the race.
“But Mills is above all a realist,” she wrote. “Without the time and resources, she doesn’t have much to do.”
Mills withdrew his bid but remains on the ballot. She has so far given no indication that she plans to campaign. Mills’ former campaign staffers did not respond to requests for comment.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who has had a public feud with Mr. Platner, immediately lashed out after the Times article, calling him “Pustl,” the nickname associated with his kicks and Reddit account. He questioned whether Meiners would be open to such a candidate.
“That’s up to the voters of Maine, but what I’m saying is that a man who obviously lied and started a campaign and is still campaigning about Nazi tattoos, two women have come forward and accused him of horrifying abuse,” Fetterman told NBC News on Thursday.
“What will be interesting is how many of my colleagues will react and how they will continue to defend or justify it,” he added.
Retired moderate Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D.N.H.) said she finds the allegations against Mr. Platner troubling.
“It sounds like a serious allegation, but it’s up to the voters of Maine to decide,” Shaheen told NBC News on Thursday.
