The wife of Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner has confirmed that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with other women during their marriage, according to reports from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Amy Gertner shared the information with her husband's campaign last year during internal vetting.
Platner, an oyster farmer and former US Marine, is Maine's presumptive Democratic nominee after his main rival, Janet Mills, suspended her campaign last month. He is challenging five-term Republican Senator Susan Collins in a race that has drawn progressive attention, though his bid has been overshadowed by past racist, sexist and homophobic online posts and a now-covered tattoo of a Totenkopf, commonly recognised as a Nazi symbol.
In a statement released by the campaign, Gertner said she was 'deeply hurt' that Genevieve McDonald, the campaign's former political director, had disclosed the texts to reporters. 'I confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend,' she said. 'We did the hard work that marriage requires. We went to counselling. We were honest with each other in ways that weren't easy.' She added that their marriage is now stronger than ever.
McDonald, one of three officials who resigned after details of Platner's tattoo and social media history emerged in October, told the New York Times: 'The United States Senate is not a training ground for redemption. It is a place for proven leaders with moral clarity and integrity.' The Wall Street Journal also reported that Platner has an active Kik account under the username phustle0331, featuring a profile picture of a shirtless man whose tattoos appear to match his own.
