Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Democrats are at each other\u2019s throats about Graham Platner after his latest scandal. They don\u2019t know what to do about it.<\/p>\n
The New York Times released a report<\/a> Thursday with disturbing accounts from several of Platner\u2019s ex-girlfriends, just days before he is set to win the Democratic nomination to face GOP Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, a critical Senate battleground. One woman described Platner grabbing her in ways that left marks and once locking her in a room. She also claimed he knew that his tattoo resembled a Nazi symbol when he got it \u2014 something he has repeatedly denied.<\/p>\n The report \u2014 on the heels of last week\u2019s news that Platner had sexted other women<\/a> while married \u2014 left Democrats torn. Some view Platner, whose campaign has persisted despite a series of scandals, as their only chance to take down Collins. He continuously led Democratic Gov. Janet Mills in primary polling before she suspended her campaign<\/a> in April, and has led the Republican senator in public head-to-head polls<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSeveral donors I know are still all-in for Platner because he\u2019s not Susan Collins and he\u2019s a Democrat,\u201d said Alex Hoffman, a Democratic strategist and donor adviser. \u201cThe line that keeps being thrown around is the double standard that exists between Republicans and Democrats, where if this was a Republican, they\u2019d all be getting behind him.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who is scheduled to campaign with Platner on Friday, reiterated his support. And some Democrats online were quick to cast<\/a>the ex-girlfriend of Platner who spoke on record to The Times, Lyndsey Fifield, as a partisan activist because she has worked in Republican politics.<\/p>\n Still, others warned that he\u2019s a loose cannon and there\u2019s no predicting what other information about his past will spill into public view. What has already come to light, they argued, might already be enough to sink his candidacy, not to mention undermine the party\u2019s core values.<\/p>\n “Democrats in Maine and throughout the country have got to decide what is their priority: Justifying Graham Platner\u2019s behavior or winning the Democratic seat in Maine,\u201d said Robert Zimmerman, a New York-based Democratic National Committee member. \u201cIt\u2019s very clear that Platner has not been able to credibly justify his conduct and Democrats who defend him sound like Republicans defending Donald Trump after the Access Hollywood tape.”<\/p>\n Winning Maine is all but a necessity for Democrats\u2019 chances of taking back the Senate this fall. Collins is the only Republican senator up for reelection this year in a state former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024. If Democrats can\u2019t knock her off, they\u2019d have to win a far redder state, such as Iowa or Texas, to get control of the upper chamber.<\/p>\n Platner, on MSNOW on Thursday just hours after The Times published its story, denied the allegations of violence and said they were coming from someone who\u2019s \u201cpolitically motivated.\u201d He said he has \u201cnot once\u201d considered dropping out of the race.<\/p>\n \u201cMy journey is one of transformation. And I\u2019m very happy to talk about that earlier part in my life. And I have no doubt that people will attempt to continue to revisit Reddit posts, continue to try to revisit parts of my past,\u201d Platner said, referring to his previously unearthed offensive posts. \u201cBut I think what\u2019s really important to note here is that these are things that I talk about in my past \u2014 things that I am not proud of \u2014 but it is a past that I had to go through to get where I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n Platner said he did not have any communication Thursday with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee about exiting the race and making way for another candidate. And he said \u201cI expect that we will not\u201d because of the \u201coutpouring of support\u201d he has received.<\/p>\n However, some donors \u2014 even those who had previously opened their checkbooks for Platner \u2014 are starting to grow skittish.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s now below the bar for my client group,\u201d said one national donor adviser, who is telling their clients to send their money to other battleground Senate races instead.<\/p>\n Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who had recruited Mills to run, was silent when asked several questions about the Platner revelations in the Capitol halls by reporters Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is dramatically higher concern about losing Maine now across the caucus than there was before the stories broke,\u201d said one senior Democratic Senate aide who, like others in this article, was granted anonymity to speak candidly. \u201cEveryone realizes that without Maine the path to taking back the Senate is impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n The aide added: \u201cEveryone is apoplectic.\u201d<\/p>\n But there was also frustration among some Democratic donors and operatives Thursday that the party was again cannibalizing one of its own, further jeopardizing its chances in what was already an uphill battle against a longtime GOP incumbent.<\/p>\n A Democratic consultant close to many of the party’s biggest donors said the sentiment among them has been that they don’t care about Platner’s scandals. Citing a conversation with a major donor who sits on the finance committee of one of the Democratic Party’s main national campaign arms, the consultant said he does not think that sentiment will change after the Times story.<\/p>\n “We don’t care. I think that’s the case for many donors. Anybody who beats Susan Collins will do,” said the consultant. The consultant attributed the indifference to the fact that it’s the “Trump era,” when allegations of wrongdoing simply don’t weigh as heavily as they once used to.<\/p>\n Platner is set to rally in Bar Harbor, Maine, on Friday with Khanna, who has endorsed him, and alongside Maine 2nd District candidate Matt Dunlap and gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson. Representatives for all three said the event was still set to go.<\/p>\n \u201cThe behavior described in the New York Times story was wrong and toxic. Graham has acknowledged that and sought redemption,\u201d Khanna said in a statement Thursday. \u201cThe people of Maine deserve a senator who is going to stand up to the billionaire class, against genocide, and for the working class.\u201d<\/p>\n Platner is all but certain to win Maine\u2019s Democratic primary on Tuesday over Mills and 2024 Democratic Senate candidate David Costello. After that, Maine law allows the state party to replace Platner with another Democrat if he stepped down before mid-July. Such a move would be unprecedented in the state\u2019s politics.<\/p>\n The Times report follows revelations last weekend that Platner had exchanged sexual messages with women other than his wife after they were married \u2014 which had already reignited Democratic fears<\/a> that he could tank hard in November.<\/p>\n Platner, a political newcomer, has been dogged by scandals since the fall, when his Reddit history revealed a series of offensive posts suggesting, among other things, that victims of sexual assault should take more responsibility and that white rural Americans are stupid. Platner apologized for the posts, saying he was in a dark place at the time, and owned up to having a tattoo that resembles a Nazi symbol, though he said he didn\u2019t realize the meaning at the time he got it and later had it covered.<\/p>\n The Times report reignited the controversy over Platner\u2019s tattoo: Fifield told the paper he had referred to it as \u201cmy Totenkopf\u201d while they were dating and knew about its Nazi connection.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the most important seat for the next Democratic president to have a trifecta to act and accomplish all the things that all the people in the Democratic Party believe in \u2014 health care, child care, climate,\u201d said Brian Romick, president of Democratic Majority for Israel. \u201cAnd now we’re in a position where someone with a Nazi tattoo, inappropriate relationships with women, and racist Reddit posts is our person. And people need to answer for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Cheyenne Hunt, the leader of the group Gen Z For Change, who had organized against former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) over allegations of sexual assault, rescinded her endorsement of Platner on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have the responsibility to do what is right even when it\u2019s politically inconvenient,\u201d she said in a video<\/a> posted on social media. \u201cWomen cannot be an acceptable sacrifice for the next election.\u201d<\/p>\n William Steakin, Andrew Howard, Shia Kapos, Chris Sommerfeldt and Calen Razor contributed to this report.<\/p>\n