Graham Platner, a Marine veteran, won the Maine Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, overcoming allegations of sexual misconduct and calling for supporters to “believe people can change.”
Primary Victory
Platner secured 72% of the vote, defeating Governor Janet Mills, who suspended her campaign in April but remained on the ballot, and David Costello, who finished third. The results were based on early returns reported by Reuters.
Controversial Past
Reports emerged that Platner had exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women while married. Former partners described him as volatile and unfaithful. One ex-girlfriend, Lyndsey Fifield, a Republican operative, alleged in the New York Times that Platner had twisted her arm behind her back during an argument and held her in a room against her will more than a decade ago. Platner categorically denied these claims.
Message of Redemption
Addressing supporters in Blue Hill, Platner, 41, said: “If you believe, as I do, that we can change our politics and our country then you must also believe that people can change. And the reason I believe is that is because I have lived it. And the reason I have lived it is because of my wife.”
He added: “Redemption is not just some simple or easy destination; it’s a journey. I’ve made mistakes in my life, mistakes I regret, that I live with, that I continue to learn from. I’m still far from perfect. But every day I wake up and I try to be a little bit better and a little kinder than I was the day before. And if you give me the chance, I will be a senator for the people who cannot afford to buy a senator.”
Criticism of National Pundits
Platner also earned supportive hollers and whoops from the crowd when he took a swipe at his critics outside Maine: “Now, the national pundits, the political establishment, they keep looking for that one story, that one headline, that one moment in my life that they can define the campaign by. But in trying so hard to understand me, they fail to understand that this is not about me at all. This is a movement about us.”
General Election Matchup
Platner will face Republican Senator Susan Collins in November. Collins is running for a sixth six-year term. The race is considered a must-win for Democrats to take control of the Senate, where Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority.
Other Developments
In other news: House Republicans narrowly passed a reconciliation bill on Tuesday, by two votes, to provide an additional $70 billion in funding over the next three years to the Department of Homeland Security, ensuring that agencies carrying out Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda remain funded until the end of his presidency. At nearly the same moment, the U.S. struck Iran again, in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. Vice President JD Vance said that a deal with Iran to end the war launched by the U.S. and Israel 102 days ago “could happen in the next week, but the deal could also happen months from now.” Lesley Groff, longtime executive assistant to Jeffrey Epstein, the late child sex offender Trump socialized with for nearly two decades, testified before the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
