Graham Platner wins Maine Democratic primary despite string of scandals

The scandal-ridden rise of Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is causing rifts within the Democratic Party, and many Democratic strategists who spoke to Fox News Digital warned of the long-term consequences of the party’s embrace of him.

Michael LaRosa, former press secretary for First Lady Jill Biden, said of whether the #MeToo movement has loomed hollow within the party as top Democrats rally behind Platner: “Anyone who pays attention to the intersection of culture and politics knows that my party was pushing #MeToo well beyond the bounds of common sense long before the rise of Graham Platner.”

“But her reflexive partisan instinct to circle the cars around her is the political equivalent of pulling the plug on the credibility Democrats have left as advocates for women standing up for themselves.”

“If standards disappear as soon as they become politically inconvenient, they were never standards.”

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Doug Schoen, a Democratic strategist and former adviser to President Bill Clinton, argued that Democrats favored Platner for power and control of the Senate because of serious concerns about his past, which could hurt them in 2028.

“In the short term, for some Democrats and those on the progressive left, this is the right decision, a practical decision,” Schoen said. “To me, this is a very sad situation and certainly undermines the moral legitimacy of the Democratic Party as a whole.”

“C.“I definitely think they made themselves vulnerable to Platner’s far-left positions, his toxicity as a person, relationship problems, and possibly lying about his Nazi tattoo,” Schoen said. “I definitely think it creates problems for Democrats, none of which need exist.”

Platner denied allegations from his ex-girlfriends who spoke to The New York Times that he talked about rape fantasies, drank heavily and had violent episodes; He also faced mounting criticism for sexually explicit messages allegedly sent to women shortly after marriage, a Nazi-linked tattoo and online comments mocking the Purple Heart veteran.

Despite new controversy emerging days before Maine’s Democratic Senate primary, Graham Platner won with more primary votes than any Democrat in the state’s history.

Democratic strategist Mally Smith told Fox News Digital that she doesn’t believe the Platner campaign is necessarily the “death” of the #MeToo movement, but that Democrats who “embrace more broadly” her campaign “will have some trouble getting sued over the Epstein files or general claims that she would believe all women.”

“Maybe the Democrats may not have an advantage on this issue anymore, but I would say the Republicans don’t have an advantage either,” Smith added. “I think voters will say, both parties are willing to live with the baggage of their candidates.”

LaRosa said he will be haunted by Democrats’ ties to Platner for years to come as he looks ahead to 2028.

“If he wins, you’re going to have to explain why you’re rooting for him,” LaRosa said. “If he loses, you’ll have nothing to show for it but partnership. Either way, he’s someone you’ll answer to.”

Smith explained Platner’s rise by arguing that there is an element where voters who are “dissatisfied with the status quo” say that the fact that elites are attacking him, whether it’s Republican voters who support President Donald Trump or Democratic voters who support Graham Platner in Maine, is actually proof that he’s on the right track.

For others, the conflicts are still too big for voters to ignore. LaRosa said voters “reward courage, not willful blindness” when considering a candidate with a tattoo of a Nazi depiction on his chest, adding that Democratic leaders lack the same “courage.”

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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner stand together during the “Fighting the Oligarchy” tour at the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus on May 24, 2026 in Orono, Maine. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“We look pretty boring, unprincipled and hypocritical when we turn a blind eye to any candidate who is accused of any level of violence against women simply because it is politically inconvenient,” LaRosa said. “Voters should never again trust us or take our moral arguments seriously. Principles, even if politically uncomfortable, only make sense when applied across the board.”

Democrats have used the “Nazi” attack line against President Donald Trump for more than a decade, but they have mostly rallied around Platner despite the Nazi imagery tattooed on his body for 18 years.

“They see all these crazy people like the guy in Maine… they’ve been calling me ‘Nazi’ for ten years and now there’s a Nazi. He’s got a tattoo on him,” President Trump said at Thursday’s press conference.

Schoen pointed to Texas Attorney General and Senate candidate Ken Paxton, arguing that Democrats are now weakening their case against Republican scandals.

“Any criticism they level at Ken Paxton in Texas will be met with criticism of Graham Platner in Maine, which, in my opinion, makes their job even more difficult,” Schoen said. he said.

Smith made a similar point, saying both parties are dealing with candidates who cause “their own version of heartburn” that can be used against them politically.

The Trump-backed Paxton prevailed in the primary against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, after he was impeached by the Texas House amid a federal investigation into allegations of fraud and abuse of his office to help a donor.

LaRosa said the “disturbing truth” is that Democrats have reduced Platner to a simple political equation, viewing him as “just another number, another vote, another seat, another data point on the spreadsheet” rather than focusing on whether he’s the right person for the job.

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during a runoff election night event on May 26, 2026 in Plano, Texas. (Antranik Tavitian/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

November may provide a clearer test, Schoen said. He said Platner’s victory does not mean he shed his political baggage, adding Platner has left the party to grapple with problems “where none needed to exist.”

“With respect to Graham Platner, there are literally immediate, multiple concerns, and it is not clear to me that he will necessarily survive and thrive,” Schoen said.

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Ultimately, Smith said, Maine voters will focus on the economy and concerns about Platner will likely be a major issue only within the state rather than nationwide.

“Voters are unhappy with the economy, and I think most people will vote on whether they believe the economy is better than it was when Trump took office, and the answer to that is a resounding no,” Smith said. “So while news stations like to talk about Graham Platner and what it means for Democrats in general, or vice versa, what it means for Ken Paxton and Republicans in general, most voters are not going to think about Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo outside of Maine. So I think this is more of a localized Maine problem.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Platner campaign for comment.