Maine Senate Candidate Acknowledges Mistakes, Denies Abuse Allegations
Maine’s Democratic Senate candidate, Graham Platner, confessed on Thursday to having exchanged sext messages with his wife and another woman shortly after his marriage. However, he refuted accusations of mistreating an ex-girlfriend, claiming those allegations were “politically motivated.”
“I made a mistake at the beginning of our marriage,” Platner stated during his first significant interview since the Wall Street Journal reported that he had sent sexually explicit messages to as many as 10 women since marrying Amy Gartner in 2023.
While appearing on MS NOW’s “All in with Chris Hayes,” Platner explained that he ceased the sexting as soon as it began. He mentioned that he and his wife addressed the issue “very early in their relationship,” stating that the messages stopped thereafter.
Platner, a former oyster farmer and Marine veteran, is running against incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins. Just before the interview, he faced renewed scrutiny after the New York Times published accounts from ex-girlfriends who claimed he had exhibited abusive behavior and expressed misogynistic views.
These ex-girlfriends painted a troubling picture, with one describing Platner as someone who “hated women” and called them “axe scars.”
Lindsay Fifield, one of the women, alleged that during an argument, Platner twisted her arm and forced her into his bedroom, not letting her leave until she “calmed down.”
Platner, however, responded that these claims were “not true,” suggesting that such statements were made by someone with political motives. “Those serious allegations are completely untrue,” he insisted.
When directly asked if Fifield, a Republican campaign worker from Virginia, was lying, Platner simply replied, “Yes. That’s not true.”
With the Democratic nomination seemingly in his favor, Platner is expected to secure it on June 9, especially since Maine Governor Janet Mills withdrew from the race in late April.
Polling data from RealClearPolitics shows that Platner currently holds a 7.4 percentage point lead over Collins in the general election.
