The Democratic US senate candidate Graham Platner on Friday predicted that Maine’s voters would support him four days later in his party primary despite a string of controversies – including recent negative headlines about his treatment of women that he said had been “weaponized”.
In a 25-minute speech before supporters in Bar Harbor, the oyster farmer and US marine combat veteran addressed the controversies around his personal conduct, which escalated on Thursday with a New York Times report in which three former romantic partners described disturbing behavior, including being physically intimidated by him.
“When hurtful things I said on the internet a decade ago came out into the public, as I shared my personal journey through PTSD and darkness, of recovery and accountability and growth, Maine had my back,” Platner said at the rally. “Now, as every single piece of that past and journey gets dug up, litigated and weaponized, you have my back.”
The first-time candidate, who is seeking to oust the Republican US senator Susan Collins in November, said: “When politically motivated, serious and false accusations are made against me, Maine, you have my back. The state of Maine raised me. And the state of Maine saved me.”
Maine’s primary vote on Tuesday looms as Democrats try to retake a majority in Congress for the latter half of Donald Trump’s second presidency.
In the run-up to the contest, Platner initially faced revelations that he had a tattoo recognized as a Nazi SS symbol. He has since had the tattoo removed and said he didn’t realize its meaning.
Platner more recently has contended with media coverage of sexually explicit messages he sent to women while he was married – as well as the mixed report card of his behavior toward women in the Times.
One woman said Platner twisted her arm during an argument and locked her in a room – an allegation he has denied.
Platner has retained support from senior Democrats and independent politicians who caucus with the Democratic party. That includes the US senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ruben Gallego of Arizona.
At his campaign stop on Friday, Platner was joined by US House member Ro Khanna, a progressive California Democrat.
“We reject, unequivocally, misogyny,” Khanna said. “But you know who else rejects it? Graham Platner.
“He understood that those years … were not the best years of his life.”
Democrat voters at the rally said they were prepared to overlook Platner’s shortcomings. Galen Lowe told the Portland Press Herald it was“refreshing to have someone actually own up to stuff that they’ve done and say, yeah, that wasn’t such a great idea. I’m working to be a better person.”
Former Platner campaign staffer Genevieve McDonald told the Associated Press that the candidate was “sexting multiple women while married” – and that “the campaign tried to assess that as an election vulnerability”.
Two feminist political groups, the National Organization for Women Pac and Vote for Equality, have encouraged Maine voters to vote for the state’s governor, Janet Mills. Mills stepped down from Maine’s US Senate race but is still on the ballot.
Some of the governor’s supporters are encouraging her to reactivate her campaign. A source close to Mills inconclusively told NBC News on Friday that “the governor remains on the ballot, and in the wake of this week’s stories, people across Maine are reaching out to tell her they’re voting for her and encouraging her to get fully back into the race”.
