The Democrat bid to unseat Maine Republican Susan Collins from the US Senate in an attempt to win back control of the upper chamber of Congress received a jolt as reports about the presumptive party nominee Graham Platner’s sexual texts with multiple women surfaced.
The Democratic Party is already facing a difficult path to recapture control of the US Senate, and the Maine race against Senator Susan Collins is a must-win for the party.
However, Platner’s wife, who the reports said was already aware of the said texts, appeared to back her Marine Corps veteran husband.
Amy Gertner said in a statement Saturday that she was “deeply hurt” after details of her husband’s messages to other women became public, accusing a former campaign official and confidante of betraying her trust.
“I find it really shameful that there’s a group of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip. No marriage is perfect, and I don’t want a perfect marriage. I want my marriage,” she said in the informal, selfie-style video where she walked along a road.
The statement came after both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that shortly after Platner announced his Senate campaign last year, Gertner flagged to campaign staff sexual text messages her husband had with other women.
According to both the NYT and the WSJ, Gertner wanted to ensure the texts didn’t pose a political liability for the novice candidate. Platner’s campaign team eventually decided that the texts were private and being handled by the couple, who were married in 2023.
The two are in counselling, Gertner has said.
The Maine Democratic primary race
Graham Platner, a Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer with no prior political experience, has surged ahead of the June 9 Democratic primary, drawing large crowds at his rallies and garnering endorsements from Democrats like Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Ruben Gallego, as well as US House Representative Ro Khanna.
According to CNN, that’s even as his campaign has been hit by revelations from his past, including a since-covered tattoo recognised as a Nazi symbol and comments he posted online denigrating police and White people.
Platner became the Democrats’ presumptive nominee after Maine Governor Janet Mills dropped out in late April, just weeks before the June 9 primary. Mills, who was recruited to run by national Democratic leaders, will remain on the primary ballot.
While Platner’s campaign has been marked by revelations over his past behaviour, those earlier developments hadn’t appeared to cut into his support: He led Collins by 9 points in a University of New Hampshire poll released last week.
It’s still unclear how the news of his extramarital sexting will affect his appeal. Former political director for Platner’s campaign, Genevieve McDonald, confirmed to CNN on Saturday that Platner’s wife disclosed to her last year that he had been sexting multiple women and that the campaign evaluated the matter as a potential political liability.
Former aide explains why she went public
McDonald initially worked on Platner’s campaign as his political director and resigned a few months later when his now-deleted Reddit posts began surfacing, saying she couldn’t stand behind him as a candidate. She later declined a severance offer from the campaign in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement.
On Saturday, McDonald wrote on Facebook that Platner’s campaign had “demanded” she retract her statements she had made to The Wall Street Journal, or his team would accuse her of violating the couple’s trust. That’s when she said she made the choice to be publicly named in The New York Times story.
More trouble
Graham Platner faced backlash last year when it was revealed that he had a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol on his chest. He said he got the tattoo in his 20s, while in the military, and did not realise its significance until recently. He has since covered the tattoo.
CNN and other outlets have also reported on other statements Platner made before he began his run. He once called himself a “communist” and dismissed police as “bastards.” He has since disavowed those comments.
What the democrats say
Democratic Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey, in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” wouldn’t say whether he is concerned about Platner but committed to working with “whoever the people of Maine elect.”
Meanwhile, Senator Chris Murphy offered a more optimistic tone, telling CBS’s “Face the Nation” that there would be a glaring difference to voters between Platner and Collins.
“He certainly admitted that he has made mistakes, but I think this is going to be a pretty clear contrast in Maine between somebody who has spent his life protecting us versus somebody who seems to be protecting Donald Trump’s corruption,” the Connecticut Democrat said.
Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey said on Sunday that he has “concerns” about Platner.
“That guy has questions to answer, and that’s what campaigns are for,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”
