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Platner romps to victory in Maine Democratic primary, will face Collins despite controversies
Graham Platner prevailed in the Maine Democratic Senate primary, breaking 50% of the vote and clinching the nomination to face Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican whom national Democrats hope to topple on their way to recapturing control of the Senate in November.
Platner had 75% of the votes with only 8% of the ballots counted when The Associated Press called the race Tuesday evening, suggesting a dominant performance. Maine Gov. Janet Mills had just 19%. Mills’ name remained on the ballot despite the fact she dropped out of the contest in April.
The oysterman and political newcomer triumphed at the ballot box despite allegations that roiled his campaign before Election Day: that he sent sexually explicit messages to women outside his marriage and behaved in a demeaning manner toward some former girlfriends, including two incidents in which he was allegedly physically menacing to one of them. Platner denied those incidents.
“This is the state that raised me. This is the state that saved me,” Platner said at his victory party. “Maine, I love you. I love this state.”
Platner chastised national Democrats, who he said kept seeking a headline that would tarnish him and were missing the point. “In trying so hard to understand me, they failed to understand this is not about me at all. This is a movement about us.”
“This is the state that raised me. This is the state that saved me,” Graham Platner said at his victory party. “Maine, I love you. I love this state.”
The Democrat will now face Collins, a five-term incumbent who ran unopposed in the GOP Senate primary.
Platner also took harsh aim at Collins, calling her “spineless,” and said she “lied to us” about protecting abortion rights codified under Roe v. Wade after supporting Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.
“Susan Collins doesn’t serve us. She serves Donald Trump,” Platner said. “We will take back the Senate seat. We will take back our power … I want you to imagine what you will feel like when we hold Trump and his criminal enterprise to account.”
In coming in first — and avoiding further rounds of counting as part of Maine’s ranked choice voting system — Platner technically defeated Mills in the Democratic primary. Mills was recruited by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., but her campaign never took off and she suspended it in April.
But her name remained on the ballot and voters could have chosen to side with their former governor as something of a protest vote against Platner.
Despite early strength, Platner’s road to nomination was paved with controversy.
Reports surfaced the week before the primary that Platner had sent sexually explicit text messages to multiple women while married. His wife, Amy Gertner, publicly defended him and criticized the release of private communications. Platner acknowledged he and his wife had gone through something difficult in their marriage “because of me” and denied the characterization of the messages.
A private meeting between Platner and Senate Democrats followed as questions mounted over whether his personal conduct would impede his ability to challenge Collins. Despite the controversies, key progressive leaders, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have continued to publicly support his candidacy.
Those allegations were followed by a report in The New York Times in which one of Platner’s ex-girlfriends accused him of physically threatening her while they were dating. The Times’ report cited several former romantic partners who described “toxic” past relationships with him. Platner has denied allegations of “physicality.”
Several of Platner’s other past romantic partners who spoke to the Times described him as a “caring” partner and said they remain friends with him, according to the report.
The allegations added to several controversies surrounding the Marine Corps veteran’s insurgent Senate campaign. He faced backlash last fall over a Nazi-style tattoo he has since covered and defamatory comments he reportedly made about victims of sexual assault in Reddit posts that were deleted before the launch of his campaign. Platner has said he was unaware of the tattoo’s Nazi symbolism when he got it in 2007.
His populist campaign, however, resonated heavily with Maine voters who deemed him the best fighter to stand up to President Donald Trump and his allies in Washington, a group they say includes Collins.
Platner also won the support of prominent national Democrats who coalesced behind him in one of the most consequential races of this midterm cycle even after the fresh allegations came to light. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., stood by Platner at his first major campaign rally in Bar Harbor following the Times report.
Mills, on the other hand, did not endorse Platner when she suspended her campaign after months of trailing him in polls and in fundraising. Instead, the governor, who is term-limited, reminded Maine voters that she is “still on the ballot” as new allegations engulfed her opponent’s campaign.
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