A turbulent US Senate race in Maine is threatening to complicate Democrats’ path to holding an advantage in the November midterm elections.
Voters, by a two-to-one margin, say the scandals surrounding Graham Platner, the Democrat who had initially secured the party’s nomination for the US Senate in Maine, have made them less likely to back a Democratic candidate in the midterms.
Platner exited the race earlier this month after a cascade of controversies, including allegations of sexual abuse and misconduct, claims that he contacted women outside his marriage, and an earlier disclosure that he had a Nazi tattoo.
According to the latest Daily Mail/JL Partners poll, 23 percent of respondents said Platner’s conduct made them less likely to support Democrats, while 12 percent said it made them more likely to do so.
For many voters, however, the controversy has not shifted their position: 37 percent said it made no difference, while 28 percent said they were unsure.
Should Republicans retain control of both the House and Senate in the midterms, the consequences could ripple well beyond Maine, shaping the political landscape as Democratic presidential prospects including Gavin Newsom, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ro Khanna and Kamala Harris weigh potential 2028 campaigns.
Before the most damaging allegations surfaced, Platner had drawn support from a number of prominent Democrats. That backing came before he was accused of sexual assault, an allegation that intensified an already growing list of controversies.
The latest accusations were the most explicit to emerge and ultimately sent Platner’s campaign into collapse.
In an 11-minute long video posted to social media in early July, he again denied the allegations but said that ‘the immense amount of weight’ on him forced him out of the race.
Graham Platner with his Totenkopf tattoo, before he covered it up
Turnout will be critical ahead of the November midterm elections. Especially in states like Maine with a vulnerable GOP incumbent, candidate quality is critical
He lost one endorsement after another, and national Democratic groups said that they would not invest any money into the race if he remained the nominee.
Congressman Ro Khanna of California posted noted on X at the time, ‘I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line. These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.’
Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona shared, ‘the allegations against Graham Platner are troubling and deeply serious. I am rescinding my endorsement.’
That prompted the party to hunt for a pick to replace him on the ballot.
Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, epidemiologist Nirav Shah, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, and former congressional candidate Jordan Wood were floated as potential picks to replace Platner. Jackson ended up being selected as the new nominee.
One of of Platner’s ex girlfriends Jenny Racicot, 41, told Politico earlier this month that she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for more than two years before the night when he showed up to her rural Maine home uninvited in 2021.
Racicot, as well as fellow Platner ex Lindsey Fifield, sat down with CNN to discuss their alleged experiences with him as a partner as well.
She told Politico that she and Platner exchanged messages the night of the attack and she told him not to come over, but later that evening, she heard him letting himself into her unlocked house.
If Republicans hold the House and Senate in the midterms, the fallout could have have far reaching implications
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Platner came upstairs to where she was sitting on the couch and appeared to be ‘blackout drunk’ when he ignored her protests and started ‘grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me.’
‘I had been telling him these words, like: ‘No, don’t,” she told Politico. ‘And, the look on his face and realizing what was happening, I just realized that, like, I am in a situation where there’s no consent here.’
Yet, the question of how he got so far permeated across the country.
Platner faced numerous scandals since last fall, including the revelation of a Nazi tattoo that he has since covered up.
Controversial Reddit posts also emerged during the course of the campaign, which Platner himself has described as including ‘homophobic slurs, anti-LGBTQ+ jokes and sexually explicit stories denigrating gay men’ to the Advocate last year.
Another recent controversy stemmed from revelations that Platner texted other women sexually while married, and the discovery of a shirtless profile on Kik.
