PORTLAND, Maine — A heated battle for the Democratic Senate nomination in Maine escalated Tuesday when Governor Janet Mills’ campaign launched a new attack advertisement targeting her primary opponent Graham Platner over his controversial social media history.
Both candidates are vying for the Democratic ticket to challenge incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins, a contest that could prove crucial for Democrats hoping to regain control of the Senate.
The Mills campaign’s new video features women reading aloud from Platner’s previous online posts that appeared to minimize sexual assault. According to the advertisement’s narrator, Platner had written on Reddit that individuals shouldn’t drink so heavily “they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to.”
The women featured in the ad label him “a bully” and declare there’s “no way” they would support him. The commercial concludes with a voiceover stating: “Graham Platner: the closer you look, the worse it gets.”
Platner, who works as an oyster farmer and served as a Marine veteran from rural Maine, had previously issued an apology several months ago when these deleted posts first came to light. He explained that he made the comments while dealing with mental health struggles following his military service. The controversial posts included support for political violence, dismissive remarks about military sexual assault, and criticism of law enforcement and rural communities.
Platner’s campaign manager Ben Chin fired back, calling Mills’ advertisement a “desperate attempt for relevance.”
“It’s why people hate politics and why not enough real people run for office: D.C. insiders who are so obsessed with their own power and threatened by someone who is building an actual movement of working people, that they launch a barrage of attacks to try to tear Graham down,” Chin stated.
Mills’ campaign responded by saying Platner’s remarks demonstrate him “minimizing sexual assault and blaming survivors.” They also distributed statements from multiple Maine women condemning Platner.
“Graham Platner’s comments aren’t just disgusting or disturbing, they are disqualifying,” stated Peggy Schaffer of Vassalboro, a former vice chair of the Maine Democratic Party, in materials shared by the Mills campaign. “These comments make him unelectable in any general election.”
The primary contest features Mills, age 78, a longtime Democratic figure with backing from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, facing off against the significantly younger and less politically experienced Platner, 41. Despite his inexperience, Platner has drawn crowds to town halls throughout the state with his populist messaging focused on housing costs and healthcare affordability. He has secured endorsements from Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and Arizona Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego.
Platner has also faced scrutiny regarding a skull-and-crossbones tattoo that resembles Nazi imagery. He claims he received the tattoo during a drinking episode and only recently learned of its Nazi connections. He has since had the tattoo altered with a different design.
Earlier this month, Mills took a subtle dig at her opponent by posting on social media: “for what it’s worth, I don’t have any tattoos.”
Platner countered Tuesday with his own advertisement featuring an endorsement from a Maine resident named Susan Collins, who shares no relation to the Republican senator. This Collins calls the incumbent a “D.C. insider” while describing Platner as a “Democrat with backbone.”
Senator Collins’ campaign chose not to respond to the competing advertisements or the dispute between her potential challengers. Collins, now 73, has held her Senate seat since 1996 and has successfully defeated multiple Democratic challengers over her career.
Democrats need to gain four additional seats to reclaim Senate control, with strategists eyeing potential victories in Maine, North Carolina, Alaska, and Ohio.
