PORTLAND, Maine — Dem Senate hopeful Graham Platner is going through a firestorm over all the things from his therapy of ladies to rape fantasies and a Nazi-linked tattoo, however attempt telling that to the group at an Elks Lodge right here Sunday.
The embattled candidate took the stage to a booming hero’s welcome from supporters who referred to themselves as his “Grahamily” — as he rattled off a policy-centric stump speech whereas utterly ignoring any point out of his rising piles of scandal in his 83rd city corridor this primary-election cycle.
“Lots of people who’re supporting [Platner] have numerous points with the [Democratic] nationwide get together,” attendee Karen Lemoine advised The Submit. “[Party bigs] decide their man or gal … and that’s the place the cash goes.
“There’s numerous anti-establishment emotions right here,” she mentioned on the jam-packed rally. “We don’t care what Washington says.”
Lemoine conceded that Platner has “clearly proven some very poor judgment” previously however argued that he deserves an opportunity to show himself within the halls of Congress and rebuild belief.
Different Platner backers conveyed related sentiments, discovering methods to downplay or shrug off the attractive oyster farmer’s hefty baggage.
“We’re speaking about issues that occurred 10-plus years in the past at a time the place he’s been very open concerning the trauma he’s experiencing,” Ryan Prescott, 37, of Saco mentioned of the Marine veteran.
“I wish to imagine that individuals can change. I’m not the identical particular person I used to be 10 years in the past.”
A few of Platner’s scandals, reminiscent of extramarital sexting, came about not too long ago. Platner obtained married in 2023, and his spouse knowledgeable his marketing campaign concerning the sexually express messages to different ladies final yr, the Wall Avenue Journal reported.
It additionally was revealed early on in his marketing campaign that he beforehand had a cranium and crossbones tattoo on his chest that resembled a Totenkopf, or “dying’s head” image that the German Nazi SS used. Platner has denied understanding concerning the Nazi ties of the tattoo, which he has since inked over.
However one in all his ex-girlfriends advised the New York Occasions final week that Platner was nicely conscious of the tat’s infamous inference and referred to it as “my Totenkop” whereas utilizing a foriegn accent.
The ex, Lyndsey Fifield, a GOP operative, additionally recounted how he allegedly yanked her out of a cab throughout an argument, “twisted her arm behind her again” and locked her in a bed room for an evening.
She later publicly prompt that her story within the Occasions was dramatically watered down. Platner has fessed as much as being a nasty boyfriend however denied accusations of bodily wrongdoing towards ladies.
Fifield additionally alleged that Platner would inform her how he would rape intruders in the event that they barged into his house.
“He mentioned this so much: ‘If anyone ever broke in right here, I might rape them,’ ” she advised the outlet.
He insisted it wouldn’t be in “a sexual method, not in a homosexual method,” she mentioned.
“He was like, ‘I might rape them to point out them that I’m dominant,’ ” Fifield mentioned.
On reddit, he additionally has trashed a Purple Coronary heart veteran, prompt that sexual assault victims ought to “take some duty” and defended urinating on useless Taliban troopers.
However not one of the followers in Sunday’s crowd in Platner’s house state requested him about any of the disturbing allegations.
Attendees as an alternative signed a card for him describing themselves as his “Grahamily” and giving him reassuring messages.
The Marine veteran briefly broke down in tears when introduced with the cardboard.
“Lots of of us on the nationwide stage misunderstand the rationale they maintain getting all the things unsuitable,” a defiant Platner advised the group. “They suppose this can be a race about me, nevertheless it isn’t. This can be a race about us. This can be a race about the way forward for politics in Maine.
“I’m very a lot just a few random man from Sullivan, Maine,” Platner claimed.
“We get to point out a political institution that my total life has advised me that this type of politics was unattainable. We’re going to point out them that not solely is it doable; it’s the longer term.”
Heidi Vierthaler, a Mainer in her 50s, advised The Submit afterward, “I used to be so relieved that it wasn’t going to be all concerning the scandals and that it was all about coverage.
“The problems should be mentioned, and I feel that it’s unhappy that we now have so many individuals speaking about someone’s relationship,” she mentioned, recalling that she was a part of the MeToo motion however declined to get into specifics.
“From what it appears like, this isn’t the form of state of affairs that occurred with Graham.”
Republicans have pummeled the left amid Platner’s rise, accusing them of hypocrisy for being selective of the ladies they select to imagine, given the progressives shrugging off Fifield’s account over her ties to the GOP.
However to date, there are only a few different indications that the parade of scandals round Platner is placing a dent in his political prospects.
He at present leads incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) by 7.4 proportion factors within the newest RealClearPolitics polling combination, though the location underestimated her considerably throughout her 2020 reelection bid.
“We’re voting on Tuesday. And the remainder of the nation nonetheless thinks we’re not going to drag it off,” Platner advised a packed crowd of devoted followers of the upcoming major the place he’s already broadly seen because the presumptive nominee.
“They don’t know.”
