{"id":4355,"date":"2026-06-09T18:48:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T18:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/06\/09\/maine-votes-as-scandal-ridden-graham-platner-seeks-senate-primary-win\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T18:48:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T18:48:43","slug":"maine-votes-as-scandal-ridden-graham-platner-seeks-senate-primary-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=4355","title":{"rendered":"Maine votes as scandal-ridden Graham Platner seeks Senate primary win"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1ma2nzf\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"120c9786-d126-4a80-9bea-f65dcd72d413\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a man speaks into a microphone\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/84525aa9dfc3e95af13ec86a79eeebda566e4e6f\/622_0_4410_3529\/master\/4410.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372.1054421768707\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for US Senate, speaks at a campaign event Sunday, in Portland, Maine.<\/span> Photograph: Robert F Bukaty\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"120c9786-d126-4a80-9bea-f65dcd72d413\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for US Senate, speaks at a campaign event Sunday, in Portland, Maine.<\/span> Photograph: Robert F Bukaty\/AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1jwoxwb\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Maine votes as scandal-ridden Graham Platner seeks Senate primary win <\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>Oysterman and marine veteran favored to win Democratic primary amid a string of controversies<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-pzh79o\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Voters are headed to the polls on Tuesday for primary elections that include a crucial Senate race involving the scandal-haunted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jun\/08\/maine-primary-election-senate-graham-platner\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Graham Platner<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/maine\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Maine<\/a>, Platner is favored to win the Democratic primary after his main opponent, former governor Janet Mills suspended her campaign. Incumbent senator Susan Collins remains safely at the top of the Republican ticket \u2013 just slightly behind newcomer Platner\u2019s lead in polling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">But the oysterman and marine veteran\u2019s string of controversies, ranging from alleged \u201ctoxic\u201d behaviour towards women to a tattoo recognised as a Nazi symbol, have plunged <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/democrats\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Democrats<\/a> into debates about double standards, purity tests and not letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">There was a final twist on Monday when Genevieve McDonald, a former political director of Platner\u2019s campaign, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2026\/06\/08\/graham-platner-maine-us-senate-primary-bid-sends-dubious-message\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">published a column<\/a> denouncing Platner as unfit for office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cGraham Platner is not someone who would be good for Maine or for the country,\u201d McDonald wrote in the Washington Post. \u201cHe exhibits a pattern of dishonest behavior that is impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cDespite being exposed by a series of scandals beginning last October, he kept assuring voters and the Democratic Party that there were no more skeletons in his closet. Then more emerged \u2013 the latest, in recent days, have involved former girlfriends\u2019 serious accusations of physical mistreatment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Even so, all the signs on the ground are that most Democratic voters are sticking with Platner, and he has some vocal supporters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">At a campaign event on Sunday, a supporter <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PollTracker2024\/status\/2063971068348342779?s=20\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">presented him with a hand-drawn card<\/a> that included the message \u201cwe\u2019ve got your back\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">At the Cross Insurance Center building in Bangor, Maine, on Tuesday women represented both sides of the argument for Platner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cI like him,\u201d said Jesenia Soler, 39, who describes herself as a transformational self-love practitioner. \u201cHe\u2019s very for the people. That he wants to make it more for people instead of corporations is the biggest thing for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> She added: \u201cFor me it\u2019s like everyone has shit that they\u2019ve done. It\u2019s human. No one\u2019s perfect. The Nazi tattoo: I know he was a marine and you don\u2019t know everything you tattoo on yourself at the time and then you find out and like, \u2018Oh, shit!\u2019 and then there\u2019s regret.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThe issues with the women: well, that\u2019s between him and the women. It\u2019s not my job to judge someone on what they\u2019ve done as long as they\u2019ve changed and moved forward and not kept on the same pattern. That\u2019s the important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">That calculus was shared by Kylie Thorwardson, a 23-year-old clinical intern, who acknowledged: \u201cI am concerned. I very much believe women and also realising that this is very convenient timing for things to come out and holding him accountable if anything does come to play. He doesn\u2019t have my vote for life for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Thorwardson was impressed by Platner\u2019s outsider status and progressive agenda. \u201cMainers struggle day to day,\u201d she continued. \u201cThere is such a high financial disparity and that is concerning. I do think we need higher taxes. If you\u2019re driving around here, you know the roads aren\u2019t great. We need new blood.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">But Jackie Farrell, an 81-year-old retiree who formerly worked for Catholic charities, voted for Mills, whose campaign is inactive but who remains on the ballot. Asked what troubles her about Platner, she replied with a laugh: \u201cThat he\u2019s a Nazi \u2013 hello? And the girlfriends. I\u2019m a woman so I understand that part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Across the board, voters in Maine have an independent streak and are frustrated with do-nothing Washington, said Tim Fullerton, a Democratic strategist born and raised in Maine who is now co-founder and chief executive of Find Out Media.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThe best way to make sure that a Mainer does the opposite of what you want is for somebody from outside of the state to tell them to do something,\u201d he said . <\/p>\n<p> \u201cThey like that he\u2019s a bit gruff. He volunteered to serve his country and experienced some damage and people understand it. People up there know him, vouch for him and see him doing the work that is necessary to make up for some past wrongs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1xavc9x\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/maine\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Maine<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-senate\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US Senate<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/democrats\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Democrats<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-congress\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US Congress<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Maine%20votes%20as%20scandal-ridden%20Graham%20Platner%20seeks%20Senate%20primary%20win%20&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jun\/09\/maine-senate-primary-graham-platner?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fjun%2F09%2Fmaine-senate-primary-graham-platner&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/jun\/09\/maine-senate-primary-graham-platner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-babllm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for US Senate, speaks at a campaign event Sunday, in Portland, Maine. Photograph: Robert<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}