Democrats navigate a new Graham Platner controversy in Maine’s battleground Senate race

For the Democratic Party, the road to Maine’s Senate primary is paved in dread.

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All Graham Platner had to do was glide into Tuesday’s election to clinch the state’s Democratic Senate nomination, since Gov. Janet Mills abruptly suspended her campaign in late April. But with each passing day, the divisions inside the party have grown as some lawmakers and activists say they are increasingly alarmed over the breadth and depth of controversies and scandals facing the military veteran .

As some Democrats nervously wondered what the next controversy might be, they worried he might be too risky a candidate to face off against the party’s great white whale: longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Some were already researching the mechanism to replace Platner should he withdraw from the ticket when the next shoe dropped Thursday afternoon.

In a lengthy report , The New York Times interviewed three of Platner’s former girlfriends, who described his behavior as “toxic” and “unsettling” at times. One woman, Lyndsey Fifield, recounted an argument when they dated — from roughly 2013 to 2015 — during which Platner “twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom and held the door closed from the other side so she couldn’t get out, telling her to remain there until she was ‘calm.’” Fifield also claimed that Platner knew the meaning behind a Nazi tattoo he has since covered.

NBC News has not confirmed the details in the Times’ report.

Platner responded to the article in a statement denying some of the allegations. His campaign said he has no intention of withdrawing from the race.

“Throughout this campaign, I’ve been open about what was a very dark period of my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, too often self medicated with alcohol, and was a far from perfect boyfriend,” he said. “I take responsibility for all of that, and wish I had been better. Any characterization beyond that is false, and I believe, politically motivated. I’m not proud of who I was then, but I am proud of the work I’ve done since, and the movement we are building in Maine.”

A Platner campaign official pushed back most pointedly against a narrative from one of the women — Lyndsey Fifield, a Republican who made some of the most serious allegations in the story — questioning her motives.

“Let’s be very clear: This is a lifelong GOP operative who’s dedicated her career to electing Republicans,” the official said.

Fifield is affiliated with Independent Women, a conservative women’s group. She also worked for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, and Nikki Haley’s 2024 Republican presidential campaign. She told the Times she has not been paid by any political entity since then.

Fifield did not reply to a request for comment. Jenny Racicot, a Maine Democrat who is the other former girlfriend named in the story with critical remarks about Platner, also did not reply to a request for comment.

In an interview Thursday night on MS NOW , Platner said some allegations in the Times story “are simply not true.”

“Anything alleging physicality, anything alleging that I knew what my tattoo was, these are the statements of someone who’s politically motivated,” he said. He also insisted he hasn’t considered dropping out of the race at any point in the past week.

In Maine, it is possible to replace a candidate after a primary, but the nominee first has to withdraw.

Democrats were still digesting the new report Thursday evening, but initial reactions ranged from wishing Platner would step aside to supporters’ digging in their heels. So far, there has been no mass exodus from those who had endorsed him.

Platner still intends to hold a rally scheduled for Friday in Bar Harbor, and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who was set to appear with him, still plans to be there, a person familiar with the plans said.

“The behavior described in the New York Times story was wrong and toxic,” Khanna said in a statement. “Graham has acknowledged that and sought redemption. The people of Maine deserve a senator who is going to stand up to the billionaire class, against genocide, and for the working class.”

Likewise, some Platner backers forged ahead.

“It’s a lot harder to dislodge us because we know the man. We’ve met the man,” said Democratic state Rep. Valli Geiger, who described Platner as a generational talent.

Like other Platner backers, Geiger dismissed some of Fifield’s allegations.

The timing of the allegations, just as voters are casting ballots ahead of Tuesday’s primary, “makes me support him more because it just feels like dirty politics to me,” said Geiger, who appeared in one of Platner’s campaign ads praising his support for her rape kit legislation.

She said she spoke with Platner after news broke over the weekend that he had exchanged explicit text messages with women early in his marriage — Platner and his wife wed in November 2023 — but she declined to detail the conversation.

Geiger accused the mainstream media of colluding to derail his campaign.

”Is it peeling people off? For sure,” Geiger said, adding, “But for many people, it’s just making us angrier.”

Roiling party anger

From Maine to Washington, Democrats expressed frustration over the cascade of controversies emanating from the Platner campaign. They have fueled a number of his long-standing critics who have also objected to his left-leaning populist views .

“There have been a lot of red flags in this race, and they continue to proliferate,” said Matt Bennett of the Democratic think tank Third Way, who had backed Mills. “We have long been concerned that it could cost us the seat, and we don’t feel any better about it today.”

Carol Eisenberg, a Maine lawyer and Mills supporter, said she feared the latest reports about Platner could “harm Democratic prospects” against Collins. She hoped “that he exits the race and the Dems can draft a better candidate,” saying she believed all of the Democrats running for governor in the state could be good substitutions.

“He deserves our sympathy for his trauma,” Eisenberg said. “And lots of therapy. And AA. But not a Senate seat.”

Adam Cote, who ran against Mills in the 2018 primary and has not endorsed in the Senate primary, said he believes the picture will become clearer in the next week or so.

“I don’t know if this is a death-by-a-thousand cuts situation,” Cote said, “or if this is a situation — here he is putting together a movement, and he’s a bit of a Teflon candidate in that sense where people are more motivated by his message and the way he delivers it.”

Cote said Democrats had been “openly debating” how to navigate Platner’s controversies, with some saying the movement takes precedence and others suggesting that embracing Platner undercuts criticism of scandal-plagued Republicans, including President Donald Trump.

But other Democrats said Trump’s history of scandals gives them more breathing room, given that the real estate magnate rose to the highest office in the nation despite facing multiple serious allegations of sexual misconduct . While they were quick to say there was only one Trump, supporters described the Platner movement as one that could withstand the most brutal of body blows.

Volatility has followed Platner since last year. Last fall, the campaign’s political director, finance director and campaign manager all resigned following revelations that Platner’s prolific Reddit posts included a slew of controversial comments.

They included downplaying sexual assault and criticizing police and rural Americans and writing that he “became a communist.” Platner apologized for the comments about sexual assault and dismissed others as “stupid joke comments.” He has attributed his posts to his struggles with post-traumatic stress and depression stemming from his service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A senior Democratic operative involved in midterm campaigns said Platner has steadily demonstrated “arrogance” that was “disappointing on many levels.”

“We like charm, we like authenticity, we like people who can break the mold, but mostly we like candidates that can win,” said this person, swho was granted anonymity to speak frankly. “The party was aware there were serious red flags. The calculus here is that this is a must-win seat, and the safer-bet candidate is the best bet when the Senate is on the line. I don’t say this often, but I think in this case some people owe Chuck Schumer an apology.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., backed Mills over Platner. After the two had a meeting Tuesday in Washington, Schumer dodged reporters’ questions about the texting controversy.

“I endorsed Graham Platner,” Schumer said. “We’re going to beat 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 story broke that many Maine Democrats were anxious about more revelations, saying rumors of another allegation were “running rampant.”

“A lot of his enthusiastic supporters are remaining true,” Farmer said. “But I do think there is a sense of — a certain sense of foreboding about what might happen.”

A longtime Maine Democrat said Platner’s supporters are so unhappy with the status quo that they are willing to accept some baggage but are worried how the latest string of revelations could affect independent voters who have flocked to Collins in the past.

“They need change. They need someone who’s different, because what is happening right now in Washington is criminal. It’s not because people love Nazi tattoos. We need a fresh face. We need a fresh take,” the Democrat said. “The dread part is coming from people who are looking at a more practical look at: How do we win in November? I think most voters say: I knew he wasn’t perfect, but can he win?”

Mills supporters wait in the wings

For Mills supporters, the latest news about Platner was not a surprise.

”He doesn’t want you to believe the women. He wants you to believe him,” said Peggy Schaffer, a former vice chair of the Maine Democratic Party who recently cast her primary ballot for Mills.

“I don’t know if it will change the race here or not. The guy should be honest with us. If there’s more to drop, we should know that before the primary, and the primary’s on Tuesday,” she said.

Schaffer said a text message later Thursday that she was sure Mills’ close friends and supporters would want her to re-engage in the race.