Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s mounting controversies are testing the willingness of Democratic voters and politicians to support a compromised candidate who could be their best option to defeat Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) next year.

Platner has been hit with a string of negative headlines in recent days. Most notable was the revelation that he got a tattoo of a Nazi symbol on his chest, which he has subsequently covered up, along with numerous controversial statements he made in the past on Reddit.

Many of his supporters, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), are standing by him for now. And recent polling has suggested Platner is far more popular than Gov. Janet Mills, his top Democratic rival, raising the question of whether voters will overlook his baggage as the party seeks a new generation of leaders who could appeal to a broader demographic.

“I think Donald Trump has changed our politics for a long time, some for the good and some for the bad,” Rocha told The Hill. “One thing for the good, in my opinion, he’s done is proven that folks don’t have to be perfect. They can have some rough edges and that America is pretty forgiving.”

But other Democrats say they’re not willing to be forgiving of Platner.

“I do not understand how we can go from having a subset of the party that is obsessed with calling Donald Trump a Nazi to then going to vast lengths to excuse a Nazi tattoo," said one unnamed Democratic strategist.

Platner’s allies say it’s not fair to compare his tattoo to what they argue is Trump’s authoritarian style of governing.

“There is a huge difference between a Republican that supports Trump’s gestapo-like tactics, sweeping people off the street with no due process and shipping them to El Salvador and [someone] who has a Nazi symbol associated with themselves,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

“One is........

© The Hill