Democrats are worried that a series of revelations about Maine Senate Candidate Graham Platner and his past dealings with women might sink his campaign, according to a new report.
On Thursday, the New York Times published a report that focused on Platner's past relationships. The most damning allegations came from Lyndsey Fifield, who dated Platner from 2013 to 2015. Platner has acknowledged that he struggled with post-traumatic stress syndrome and alcohol during this time and sought help in 2016.
Fifield told the New York Times that while Platner "never hit me, he never punched me," he did repeatedly grab her hard enough to leave marks. According to a 2016 diary entry she shared with the newspaper, she described Platner as "the most toxic literally abusive man on earth who destroyed my life."
Politico noted that the revelations have set off a firestorm within the Democratic Party, with some officials panicking and others doubling down on Platner.
"Several donors I know are still all-in for Platner because he's not Susan Collins and he's a Democrat," Alex Hoffman, a Democratic strategist and donor adviser, told the outlet. "The line that keeps being thrown around is the double standard that exists between Republicans and Democrats, where if this was a Republican, they'd all be getting behind him."
Some politicians can float above scandals that would sink others. In 1992, for example, then presidential candidate Bill Clinton was accused of having a long-term affair with Gennifer Flowers. Clinton denied having an affair at the time, but he did acknowledge "causing pain" in his marriage. He survived the scandal and won the election, CNN reported.
President Donald Trump once was recorded by Access Hollywood saying that he could "grab'em (women) by the p----," and still got elected. Trump also survived several allegations of misconduct made against him by women, which he has dismissed as being politically motivated.
Democrats are worried about what might come next in the Platner campaign and the potential cumulative effect of revelations. The Times story came after stories that Platner had been sexting with other women following his 2023 marriage, Politico noted.
The Times story has also reignited some past concerns about a tattoo on Platner's chest that is widely seen as having Nazi undertones. He had previously said that when he got that tattoo in 2007, he did not know that some people viewed it that way. According to his ex-girlfriend, Fifield, that's a lie.
She told the newspaper that he referred to it as "my Totenkopf," adding that Platner "would joke about it being a Nazi tattoo."
Platner's campaign and some Democrats have dismissed Fifield as a conservative political operative because of her ties to Independent Women, a group that supports Collins.
