The Memo: Do voters care about the Graham Platner sexting furor?

The compelling but controversial candidacy of Maine Democrat Graham Platner has taken yet another turn with little more than a week left before the Senate primary in the Pine Tree State.

Platner is enmeshed in a sexting furor after The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported that the candidate has in the past exchanged explicit text messages with several women — and that this behavior had been raised with campaign aides by his wife, some time ago.

The precise role of a former campaign aide in making this information public has become a contentious topic all of its own. 

Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, responded to the stories with a video posted on social media on Saturday. Gertner said it was “shameful” that there was “a group of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip.”

Gertner’s five-minute video was praised by supporters for its authenticity. One particular phrase she used seems to have gained particular resonance: “No marriage is perfect, and I don’t want a perfect marriage. I want my marriage,” she said.

Still, critics noted that the video did not deny the central allegation of Platner sending sexually explicit messages — in fact, by implication, it appears to almost confirm it.

The Wall Street Journal story also noted: “Platner also has an active account on Kik, a popular, private messaging app. Platner’s profile shows a mirror selfie of him shirtless with a towel wrapped around his waist.”

The Journal’s story, however, added that the Platner campaign said the Senate hopeful had “long deleted the app from his phone but hadn’t deactivated his account.”

The story brings together numerous different threads in one tale that is inevitably drawing prurient interest.

Perhaps the single most important question is: Do........

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