How Platner’s insurgent Maine Senate bid fell apart

Former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s insurgent bid to oust incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) from the legislature quickly fell apart in a turbulent and public string of controversies that left the Democratic Party with little time to put together a comparable campaign. 

Platner first set his sights on the upper chamber on Aug. 19, 2025, branding himself as an oyster farmer and veteran who would champion policies for the working class. 

His charismatic tenor drew crowds at rallies that built a network of grassroots organizers committed to sending Platner to Washington in the fall. 

He quickly rose among the ranks of popularity, with voters favoring him over Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D), who previously served as the 57th attorney general for the Pine Tree State and as a member of the state House of Representatives.

Mills had Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) backing, but Platner had his own growing chorus of supporters, with a stronghold on Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who defended him in the wake of several controversies. 

Nine months into his campaign, Platner had already come under fire for racist social media posts and a chest tattoo that resembled Nazi insignia.

One of his Reddit posts in 2013 said that people shouldn’t get so drunk “they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to” and that sexual assault victims should “just take some responsibility for themselves.”

By June, reports surfaced regarding sexual messages Platner sent to women who were not his wife.

“I’m sure he’s not a saint,” Sanders told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins when asked about the allegations. 

The Vermont lawmaker said Platner struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and said some misjudgments could be credited to those experiences in warfare. 

Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, also stood beside him, defending him from the heat and onset of questions about his moral compass.

“I think it’s shameful behavior to spend time and........

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