Graham Platner has received a wave of both praise and criticism in recent weeks. The U.S. Senate candidate from Maine continues to garner support from at least one particular demographic: veterans groups.
Platner officially became the Democratic Party candidate on Tuesday evening after comfortably defeating Gov. Janet Mills, whose campaign was suspended in April due to a lack of fundraising though she remained on the ballot. The Associated Press called the race as 8% of the votes were counted, when Platner had earned 75% of the vote. NBC News later reported that Platner garnered roughly 149,800 votes, or 72%, compared to the 40,100 votes (19%) Mills received.
The primary victory means that Platner will officially square off this November against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who was first elected in 1996 and ran unopposed in her primary. It’s a major test for Platner, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer who has seemingly sprung from nowhere to pose a formidable challenge in what is expected to be a very tight election.
“Until recently, I thought that harbormaster would be the height of my political career,” Platner told supporters after his victory. “It now appears that things have changed.”
He also pivoted towards his opponent, Collins, 73, calling her “as spineless and corrupt as the establishment she now serves.”
The Collins campaign, in a statement shared with Maine’s Total Coverage following Platner’s victory speech, said in part:
“Mainers aren’t looking for bitter campaigns, grand promises, or angry speeches riddled with lies. They’re looking for results. They want affordable health care, safe communities, good-paying jobs, strong schools, and someone who will show up and do the work. That’s why Senator Susan Collins continues to earn the support of Republicans, Democrats, and independents across Maine.”
Platner’s Controversies
While a lane has officially opened to provide Platner a realistic opportunity to serve in the U.S. Senate starting next January, he’s had plenty of controversies to answer regarding his marriage, tattoos and past remarks.
Reporting on Platner’s past led to the discovery of an old Reddit account in which Platner, 41, used homophobic slurs and made dismissive remarks about sexual assault in the military, saying victims should “take some responsibility for themselves.”
A Nazi tattoo was also uncovered. The ink, consisting of a Totenkopf (skull and crossbones) that is typically associated with the Nazi SS, was situated on his chest before being covered up. He’s chalked up the tattoo to being intoxicated in 2007, when he received it. Other veterans who have claimed to be with him have vouched that Platner is not, in fact, a Nazi.
Most recently, Platner’s marriage has been front and center—not just in Maine but across the United States. In May, the Wall Street Journal reported that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women. A New York Times report published earlier this month involved interviews with multiple women who alleged that Platner was “unsettling” and physically abusive, which Platner has denied.
On Wednesday’s episode of Morning Joe on MS Now, co-host Mika Brzezinski pressed Platner over the females’ allegations and asked if his response to the allegations could negatively impact survivors—implying a connection between survivors and how they were treated in accordance with Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.
“I engaged in consensual romantic activities with adults at an earlier part of my life; that seems like a fairly normal thing most people do,” Platner said in response. “Going to an island with billionaires to possibly assault children is a vastly, vastly different thing.”
During his victory speech on Tuesday, Platner referred to his wife, Amy Gentner, as “Amy Jane” and called her his “best friend and the love of my life.”
“Redemption is not just some simple or easy destination, it’s a journey,” Platner said. “I’ve made mistakes in my life, mistakes that I regret, that I live with, that I continue to learn from, and I’m still far from perfect.
“But every day I wake up and I try to be a little bit better and a little bit kinder than I was the day before, and if you give me the chance, I will be a senator for the people who cannot afford to buy a senator.”
Republican operatives are trying to stake Platner’s campaign on his past.
“Graham Platner is a racist, sexist, Nazi-loving domestic abuser who fantasizes about rape and murder, spends his time on a predatory sex app, and disparages American service members,” Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters said in a statement. “Platner is easily the most toxic candidate of the cycle, and the fact that Democrats have embraced him in service of a radical socialist agenda has placed the final nail in the coffin of their chances to win Maine in November.”
Veterans Groups Hold Strong for Platner
Amid all the allegations and accusations that have plagued Platner’s campaign, both the candidate and his most ardent supporters remain optimistic about November and have vowed to maintain the momentum. That includes fellow veterans standing by one of their own.
“Veterans for Responsible Leadership (VFRL) is standing by our endorsement of Graham Platner,” the group’s executive director, Scott Peoples, told Military.com. “We definitely take the reporting on his past behavior and the allegations against him seriously. We also do not condone any of his past bad behavior or mistakes he has made.
“But we believe in the power of redemption, and we believe that people can grow and change if they take full accountability for their past mistakes. Graham has done that so far. He has apologized and has admitted that the man he was several years ago is not the man that he is today. He has taken more ownership and accountability for his mistakes than we have ever seen from a MAGA politician.”
Maine voters have spoken and shared their sentiments at the ballot box, Peoples added, which is how a democracy should function. He said that statewide voters “sent a clear message that they want an outsider and an anti-establishment candidate like Graham to be their representative in the Senate.”
VFRL founder Dan Barkhuff, a veteran deployed to Iraq at the same time as Platner, wrote on his Substack pre-primary that “Platner’s struggles are a part of his appeal, not detrimental to it.”
“He said dumb things. He did dumb things,” Barkhuff said. “It seems like he has, underneath his gruff willingness to say what needs to be said in this nation under hot spotlights, a “being a prick” streak, problems with alcohol, and the sort of impulsive aggressiveness that is curated and encouraged in ground combat units where 99% of your problems can be solved by getting more violent and faster than the other guy,” Barkhuff said.
“None of that is hidden, and none of it needs to be excused. But as a ground combat veteran myself, I want to tell you that being one is different in kind, not degree, from what other veterans, even ones who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan,” he added.
Common Defense Action Fund, a grassroots, veteran-led organization founded in 2016, and the League of Labor Voters on Wednesday announced a new independent ad campaign called “Jimmy,” broadcast in the Portland media market and featuring a U.S. Air Force veteran, Platner supporter who is endeared to him due to his commitment to end the U.S.’s involvement in “forever wars.”
A CDAF spokesperson declined to comment to Military.com.
Peoples called the veteran vote “crucial” not just in Maine but nationwide, echoing other veterans’ concerns about the U.S. starting or joining “stupid” wars.
“Veterans also need to be vocal about the current state of veterans’ healthcare and the VA since Trump came back into power,” Peoples said. “Since his cruel and reckless DOGE cuts, the quality of veteran’s healthcare has diminished and is only continuing to get worse, especially in rural communities.
“We need to elect veterans into public office that have experienced what we all went through and continuously go through because that will help make decisions that are best for the veterans and not for the billionaires and corporations. Graham Platner is absolutely that candidate that we need to fight for our interests in Washington.”
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