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There has never been a moment in the history of the modern Democratic Party when brandishing a Nazi tattoo, even one that has been hastily covered up, wouldn’t immediately torpedo a candidate’s electoral prospects. This is the information that made me conclude that Graham Platner, the oyster farmer turned politician gunning for Maine’s Senate seat, would not succeed in his race after news broke last October that he had a Totenkopf—a skull-and-crossbones symbol closely associated with the SS—emblazoned on his chest. Five months later, I’m still trying to figure out how I was so wrong.

Platner had come out of nowhere. He launched his campaign in the summer of 2025 with a viral ad that jolted life into a beleaguered coalition of exasperated liberals and lapsed progressives. Here was this former Marine with a husky voice and an understated charisma, railing against the oligarchy, the health care cartel, and unchecked military spending, at a moment when the Democratic Party looked especially inert. It also helped that Platner possessed a suite of masculine trappings that, in the rubble of the 2024 election, pundits had determined was sorely lacking in America’s leftward flank. He was stepping up to the plate to run against Susan Collins, the Maine Republican who has long bedeviled Democrats. But despite his overnight stardom, hopes were instantly dashed after the tattoo came to light. Platner pleaded ignorance—claiming that he had gotten inked with insignia while drunk and off duty in Croatia, and didn’t understand the horrific context until much later. Good try, I remember thinking at the time of this excuse. Points for boldness, I guess. I was sure the die had been cast. Platner was cooked. Baggage like this could not be overcome. Voters might look past a tattoo of a naked woman or a Celtic cross. But not a Nazi sign.

Or so I thought. As the controversy circulated through the airwaves and pressure mounted for his dismissal, Platner refused to drop out of the race. This proved to be wise! The months zoomed by, the primary drew nearer, and something genuinely surprising happened: Platner solidified himself as the overwhelming favorite for the nomination. He is leading his opponent, former Maine Gov. Janet Mills, by an average of 25 points in polls conducted in February and March. (More damningly, Mills has failed to crack 40 percent in any of the surveys conducted in 2026.) Simultaneously, Platner has emerged as a routine talking head on the broader liberal podcast circuit. He has yukked it up with the........

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