In the small town of Sullivan, Maine, a storm is brewing over Senate candidate Graham Platner. Just days before a critical primary, local chatter is dominated by allegations of scandalous conduct that many believe make the Democratic hopeful unfit for public office.
Platner, who is challenging Republican Senator Susan Collins, has found himself mired in controversy. Reports from the Wall Street Journal revealed that he engaged in explicit messaging with women on a dating app while still married. Further investigation by the New York Times painted a troubling picture of Platner as a heavy drinker with a history of misogynistic behavior, including an incident where he allegedly confined an ex-girlfriend in a room.
In Sullivan, a close-knit community of just 1,200 residents, these revelations have sparked outrage.
“Someone like that has no business being in politics. It’s just foolish,” Esther, a local resident, expressed to The Post on Wednesday, with her husband, who is 85, echoing her sentiments.
Barbara Watkins, a retired resident aged 89, described Platner’s series of controversies as “appalling.”
“He should just step down and disappear,” Watkins firmly stated.
Platner, who married his wife in 2023, sexted with at least six women on the app, Kik — his profile picture featuring a shirtless bathroom selfie under the username Phustle0331.
His lurid behavior was flagged by his wife, Amy Gertner, to campaign aides as they conducted opposition research on their candidate in August.
But the 41-year-old’s wife took to social media to defend her husband, explaining they’d move through their marital problems and were happy.
Some of Platner’s hometowners weren’t so convinced, however, including women who sympathized with his wife.
“I don’t think it’s right for him to do that,” said 50-year-old Susan Harmon. “Obviously, he thinks it’s alright, but I feel bad for his wife.”
And 87-year-old Navy vet Colby A. Young called Platner “an idiot.”
“He speaks like one and talks like one,” Young said.
The sexting situation was just the latest scandal to dog Platner in the nine months since he entered the public eye — he was exposed for posting vile comments online about the likes of rape victims, cops and minorities, and claimed he had no idea that he had a Nazi “death’s head” tattoo on his chest for nearly two decades.
He then spent the ensuing months promising voters there were no more skeletons in his past — saying so as recently as April at a Maine town hall and then promising Democrats the same thing this week.
The latest polling still places Platner, who’s been endorsed by Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, ahead of the pack, and beating Collins by a more than 7-point lead.
A Platner win would upset Sullivan’s longstanding conservative record — the tiny town voted red in the 2024 and 2020 elections, voting Collins in for another term six years ago over her Democratic opponent by nearly 20 points.
And some of his followers are still keen to support him — even if they don’t like how he’s acted in the past.
“As a married woman, I’m not really thrilled about it, but if that’s as far as it went and their able to work through it together in their own relationship, I think that’s the most important thing,” 55-year-old Nicole Esther said.
“It’s really none of my business either way.”
