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Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner remains the heavy -375 favorite to win against longtime Republican Senator Susan Collins
Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported that Platner exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women early in his marriage
Last week it was Ken Paxton winning by nearly a 30 point percentage margin in Texas against long time incumbent Senator John Cornyn in that state's GOP runoff primary.
This weekend, a scandal was brewing over Maine Democratic candidate for Senate Graham Platner. He's facing off against long time incumbent Senator Susan Collins and remains a -375 favorite, at least for now.
Platner — an oyster farmer and Marine Corps veteran — is viewed as the anti-establishment candidate. But much like Paxton in Texas, Platner has baggage.
Previously, the Democratic candidate took heat for having had a skull-and-crossbones tattoo on his chest that many observers, historians, and political opponents said looked very similar to the SS Totenkopf insignia. The Totenkopf was used by Nazi organizations, including concentration camp guards, making it one of the most notorious Nazi symbols.
Platner said he got the tattoo during a night of heavy drinking while serving in the Marines and on leave in Croatia in 2007. He claimed to be unaware of its Nazi association and eventually covered it up and publicly apologized.
Over the weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported that Platner exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women early in his marriage. Platner married Amy Gertner in 2023.
A shirtless, towel-clad selfie allegedly associated with Platner's Kik account was published as part of the controversy. The Kik app has become notorious for anonymous chatting, flirting, and sexting, though it also has legitimate uses.
Soon after the story was published, Gertner posted a video to X defending her husband.
"Amy and I went through something hard — because of me. We did the work, and I'm grateful for her every hour of every day. I've learned throughout this campaign that people don't care about gossip or headlines, they care that you're fighting for their hospitals, their paycheck, their kids."
Last fall, old, deleted Reddit posts came to light in which he made racist comments and blamed sexual assault on victims. He claimed those osts came at the darkest time in his life when he was dealing with PTSD after multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Platner sat down with NPR Morning Edition's Leila Fadel to discuss some of the controversies further.
"I mean, the infantry is a place of hypermasculinity. It's a place of intense violence, things that are seen as virtues," he said. "These are generally not seen as virtues in the normal world. And then I had to struggle with how do I come out of that and integrate back into society? I talked about that journey. I talked about it very, very honestly. And I think a lot of people recognize that the ability to transform, the ability to change is kind of just a normal human trait."
During the interview Platner also had choice words for Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
"Pete Hegseth is literally using the U.S. military to make up for the fact that he's insecure about his own military service," Platner said. "That's insane."
The Maine Democratic primary will be held on June 9. That state's current governor, Janet Mills, recently dropped out leaving Platner as the now overwhelming favorite to beat David Costello.
Platner holds a measurable lead over incumbent Senator Susan Collins, although Maine has a history of close races and Collins has often outperformed polling expectations. The -375 price on Platner found at BetOnline is still relatively short when it comes to elections betting this far in advance of the November general election.
- T.C. Jackson, Gambling911.com
