Platner faces new misconduct allegations as Maine primary nears

Graham Platner’s Senate campaign entered the final stretch before Maine’s June 9 primary under a cloud of new misconduct allegations that could shape how Democrats judge their nominee in the closing days. The 41-year-old oyster farmer from Sullivan and Marine veteran has become the presumptive Democratic standard-bearer after Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign in late April, but his race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins is now defined as much by personal controversy as by policy.

Reports by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times said Platner’s wife told his campaign in 2025 about sexually explicit text messages he had sent to other women. Platner and his wife, Amy Gertner, have said they went through counseling and that their marriage survived the crisis. Platner has tried to redirect the race toward governing, saying, “Amy and I went through something hard because of me,” and arguing that voters care more about hospitals, paychecks and kids than gossip. Gertner also told the campaign the focus on the allegations was “shameless.”

The scrutiny has widened beyond the text messages. A New York Times report said three of Platner’s former girlfriends described his behavior as “toxic” and “unsettling” at times. He has also faced backlash over Reddit posts and a skull-and-crossbones tattoo that critics said resembled a Nazi symbol. Platner said he did not know the tattoo’s Nazi association and later covered it up.

The fallout has reached Washington, where party divisions have sharpened as Democratic leaders and activists debate how serious the allegations are and whether they threaten a race Democrats had hoped to put in play. Platner met with Senate Democrats in Washington, D.C., on June 2 to reassure them he has a path to victory. Some Democrats have even discussed what mechanism could be used to replace him if he withdrew.

The stakes are high because Maine’s open Senate seat is one of the clearest battlegrounds on the 2026 map and could help determine which party controls the U.S. Senate after the midterms. Even as the controversies deepened, polling in late May and early June showed Platner leading Collins in a general-election matchup. For Maine voters, the immediate question is whether the allegations are disqualifying or whether the Democratic contest remains driven by the same political opening that put Platner atop the field in the first place.