Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee for the Senate race in Maine, dismissed reports about him sending sexually explicit texts to other women on Sunday as “gossip,” but later acknowledged that he and his wife “went through something hard” because of him.
Platner’s wife called reports of the sexually explicit texts “shameful.”
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Platner’s response follows reports by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, which said Amy Gertner, who married Platner in 2023, told Platner’s Senate campaign last year about sexually explicit texts he sent to several women, to ensure they didn’t impact his campaign.
After a campaign event in Portland, Maine, Platner was asked about the reports and said he wasn’t surprised that “establishment media outlets” were running “gossip” instead of issues that “actually matter in this race.”
Platner, who was speaking alongside his wife Gertner, said they have a “very loving and very happy marriage” and accused the media of trying to “rip that apart.”
The Democratic candidate accused the Times and the Journal of “journalistic malpractice” and claimed that they ran stories without any evidence “besides the gossip from a former staffer”
Platner’s campaign released a video from Gertner on Saturday, in which Gertner said she was “really angry, disappointed” that her disclosure was made public and she “[finds] it really shameful that there’s a group of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip instead of talking about real issues that Graham is running on.”
Former Maine state legislator Genevieve McDonald, who also served as the Platner campaign’s political director before leaving in October, told the Times that Gertner reached out to her before a rally with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., indicating Platner exchanged texts with as many as a dozen women. McDonald told the Times the Senate is “not a training ground for redemption,” and instead a “place for proven leaders with moral clarity and integrity.” When asked about this Platner told reporters, “I’m confirming that what Genevieve McDonald said in the New York Times is not true.” The Democratic candidate was then asked if he ever met with her to discuss the alleged text messages and responded saying: “We talked about things in Amy and I's marriage that we've gone through over the years. We talked about that because that's our marriage and we discussed it with the campaign.”
After talking to reporters in Portland, Platner’s campaign issued a written statement from him to various media outlets, which said: “Amy and I went through something hard — because of me. We did the work, and I'm grateful for her every hour of every day. I've learned throughout this campaign is that people don't care about gossip or headlines, they care that you're fighting for their hospitals, their paycheck, their kids.”
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said on Sunday that Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, has “questions to answer” following reports that Platner’s wife flagged to his campaign sexually explicit texts Platner sent to other women.
Platner was criticized last year after some of his past social media posts resurfaced, including some in which he reportedly referred to himself as a “communist,” called white rural people racist and stupid and encouraged people not to use substances to avoid being raped. Platner apologized for the posts and said he was “deeply sorry,” pointing to the “disillusionment” he felt when he returned home after serving tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Platner also drew criticism after a video surfaced of him shirtless with a tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol. Platner told “Pod Save America” he was “not a Nazi” and was a “lifelong opponent” of Nazism, suggesting he got the tattoo while “very inebriated” while he was a Marine in 2007 and that he was unaware of its Nazi links. He covered the tattoo up in October after promising to have it removed. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., told CNN last week he believed the tattoo should still be “personally disqualifying.”
Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer, emerged as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for Senate in Maine after Gov. Janet Mills dropped out in April. He has been endorsed by several Democrats, including Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., And Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who reiterated his support for Platner after reports of his texts emerged Saturday, writing on X he was “proud” of Platner for “having the character to stand up against the war in Iran, against Genocide, and against an unfair and lopsided economy.” Platner will challenge Maine’s long-time Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins.
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