Keeping Graham Platner as a candidate for Senate in Maine may end up costing Democrats. But some of them just don’t care, because the only thing that matters to them is winning.

The New York Times story that broke regarding Herr Platner’s physical assault of a former girlfriend, creepy commentary about using rape as a dominant power move, and knowing exactly what kind of tattoo he had years ago left Democrats absolutely stuck. Either they disavow this guy, claim ignorance/run away from the media, or double down and spin madly that really, it wasn’t THAT bad and Susan Collins is worse.

AOC put herself in the “claim ignorance” camp, along with other senators like Tim Kaine and Adam Schiff.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declined to weigh in when asked about the growing controversy surrounding Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner.

The questions came after multiple women accused Platner of abusive behavior and raised concerns about a Totenkopf tattoo — an… pic.twitter.com/Kcht29f71L

— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 5, 2026

Representative Madeleine Dean (D-PA), on the other hand, joined Representative Jake Auchincloss and Senator John Fetterman in saying that Platner was a hard no, and that Democrats need to find a different candidate.

Pennsylvania Rep. Madeleine Dean delivered the blunt assessment during an appearance on CNN, where she was asked whether she still supported Platner’s bid for the US Senate amid mounting scrutiny over his past conduct and personal behavior.

“I think it’s so distressing all of the stories that are coming out, and they’re more and more it seems by the hour,” Dean told CNN host Boris Sanchez.

“I’m not a voter in Maine, but he has disqualified himself in my eyes. He is not qualified to be a representative, a senator.”

Dean suggested the accumulating allegations had crossed a threshold that made Platner unfit for office.

“We’ll see what Maine does about it,” she said on CNN.

“And I know Governor Janet Mills remains on the ballot, but he has disqualified himself.”

And John Fetterman remains the most sane Democrat in the Senate, a shockingly low bar to clear these days, by simply pointing out that Platner’s Reddit comments, abusive behavior, Nazi tattoo, Kik account, and “dick pics” should be a problem for voters.

Fetterman is correct – Democrats simply have no idea what Platner was sexting out to multiple women, and this could rapidly turn into an Anthony Weiner moment. But some Democrats have doubled down, blamed the victim because Lyndsey Fifield dared to go on the record AND be a Republican, and are boldly pointing at the guy with the Nazi tattoo and abuse allegations and screaming “THAT’S OUR HITLER!”

Tapper: "Are you not disturbed at all by the allegations in the New York Times story on Graham Platner?"

Maine State Rep. Valli Geiger: "The person who accused him of physicality is a Republican operative… who helped write the speech Susan Collins gave on the floor to justify… pic.twitter.com/pLbRz1HqfY

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 5, 2026

Representative Ro Khanna of California, who is sticking by Platner, spoke at the pre-planned rally in Maine on Friday evening, absolutely glossing over the assault allegations and essentially admitting that what has been reported so far is true. For someone who was supposedly championing Epstein survivors, this is certainly a take.

Khanna, who has become a leading advocate in Congress for women who accused disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein of abuse, walked a fine line in his speech defending Platner, saying Platner was not perfect but had owned his mistakes.

“No one should make excuses for his past relationships, some of which were toxic and volatile,” Khanna said. “And no one on our side should attack the women who came forward.”

But Khanna added the United States “broke” young men like Platner, a combat veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, by sending them to war. “If someone felt hurt by Graham in a past relationship, we can listen to them, and we can listen to Graham,” Khanna said.

This is just straight up justifying abuse. Plain and simple. https://t.co/DE4IQuuxw0

— Bobby Trivett (@btrivett07) June 6, 2026

Platner, however, is a pathological liar. While claiming that his past is being “weaponized” against him, he just can’t stop lying about his present.

This conservative journalist is correct. Platner lies in this clip. He says he "makes a living off the sea." He objectively does not. He draws no wages from his business. His only personal income is from VA disability. It's simply a lie. https://t.co/0fjBuvCo12

— Magdi Jacobs (@magi_jay) June 6, 2026

This leaves Democrats in quite the pickle, even if they want Platner off the ballot. The only other statewide option is the current governor, Janet Mills.

Some Democrats are wishcasting that Gov. Janet Mills — who suspended her campaign for Senate in April but is still on the ballot — could pull off a shocking upset in the election. Her allies in recent days have reminded supporters that Mills is on the ballot, but she has done no formal campaigning.

Others are putting their hope in an even unlikelier scenario: that Platner will exit the race on his own and allow the state Democratic Party to replace him at its convention in July.

“If we see out of the results on Tuesday that Mills was getting a lot more votes than one would think of somebody who suspended their campaign, I think there’s a sign that there’s a lot of protest and angst within the primary voters,” said Adam Cote, a longtime Maine Democrat who faced off with Mills in the 2018 gubernatorial primary and has not endorsed in the Senate race. “And that’s just the primary voters, that’s not even getting to the general election.”

If Platner bleeds a significant number of Democratic voters to Mills it could ramp up pressure on him to drop out of the race, multiple top Democratic strategists told POLITICO on Friday.

Maine is the only blue state on Senate Democrats’ target list, and taking it out of play could sink the party’s strategy for flipping the chamber.

“In a seat that we critically need to pick up to have any chance of taking the Senate, this just isn’t good,” said a longtime Democratic fundraiser, granted anonymity to discuss the race candidly. “Doing a last-minute sub might be the best option, or the only option, but it certainly doesn’t give a lot of comfort to those of us who ask people to write checks.”

“If we have to wait till after the primary and hope they can talk him into dropping out … that would appeal to me,” said the fundraiser, who is also a major donor.

A Democratic Party official based in another state said they “don’t see pressure for him to drop out really ratcheting up until after the primary results.”

“That’s when the knives would really come out, especially if there’s another story with more allegations,” the official said.

In fact, at least one PAC is urging voters to vote for Mills next week.
https://twitter.com/PollTracker2024/status/2063022554944541149
But this last minute push for Janet Mills feels like too little, too late – especially considering that early voting in Maine began weeks ago and requests for absentee ballots ended on June 4th – the same day the NYT story dropped. Are there more skeletons in Platner’s closet? Undoubtedly, as Lyndsey Fifield herself said in describing how the NYT reporters pulled her in and then constructed their article. Will those skeletons become zombies and get out of the closet before that July deadline? It certainly seems like Democrats are hoping that will become their “get out of jail free” card.

After Tuesday, should Platner win the primary, Democrats will be forced to own him for the entirety of the election season. They bought the ticket – I hope they enjoy the ride.

Featured image: Democrat donkey caricature via DonkeyHotey Flickr, cropped and modified, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)