Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner rejects new allegations of abusive behavior | US politics
US Senate Democratic candidate Graham Platner has rejected an explosive new report into his treatment of women and insisted allegations of abusive behavior were “politically motivated”.
Platner, a progressive candidate in Maine, was responding to a question: New York Times article That report, released Thursday, included an interview with a Republican operative who accused him of womanizing, physically abusive and disturbing comments about rape.
The allegations have led to new calls for Platner, 41, who has come under scrutiny for past social media posts and a tattoo of what is considered a Nazi symbol, to withdraw from next week’s Democratic primary in Maine, but he has given no indication he will do so.
The New York Times said its report was based on interviews with more than two dozen people, including Lyndsey Fifield, 40, whom the newspaper described as “a Virginia conservative who has worked for right-leaning groups and Republican campaigns.”
Fifield dated Platner from 2013 to 2015, according to the newspaper, adding that she found him “suspiciously disdainful” of women and that his offensive online posts “remind me how much he hates women.” In a 2016 diary entry, she described him as “literally the most toxic, abusive man in the world who ruined my life.”
In the article, Fifield claimed that Platner often grabbed her by the shoulders and once pulled her out of the taxi by her wrist. “She recalled twisting the man’s arm behind his back during an argument, pushing him into a bedroom and holding the door closed from the other side so he couldn’t get out, telling him to stay there until he was ‘calm’.”
The Times noted that Platner “strongly disputes” any allegations of physical threats or altercations and said it could not independently verify Fifield’s account of them.
Fifield also recalled that Platner sharpened the ax while watching television and left an AR-15 lying around in his Washington apartment. She said he described women as “hatchet wounds”, a crude reference to female anatomy, and repeatedly asserted, “If anybody ever broke in here, I would rape them,” adding that this would not be in “a sexual way, not in a gay way”.
“He said I was going to rape them to show them that I was dominant,” Fifield told the paper.
Fifield also cast doubt on Platner’s claim: was unaware His tattoo was a Nazi symbol until it became the focus of controversy last year. “After all, he called her ‘my Totenkopf,’ saying he had taught her that word years ago,” the Times reported.
Fifield previously worked in Washington for the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank that is preparing Project 2025, a plan for a second Donald Trump administration, and wrote a short piece about Republican Nikki Haley’s 2024 presidential campaign. that now visiting friend She’s in a conservative group called Independent Women.
A statement from Platner’s campaign said: “Let’s be very clear: This is a lifelong GOP incumbent who has devoted his career to electing Republicans.”
The New York Times cited critical comments from two other women. Maine Democrat Jenny Racicot, 41, who said she dated Platner between 2019 and 2021, told the newspaper: “When I saw old comments he made online, I recognized a version of him that I had experience with.”
A third woman, also a Democrat from Maine, who asked to remain anonymous, repeated allegations of binge drinking and infidelity and said she felt like “collateral damage to the world that is hers.”
Three other women who dated Platner also gave more positive statements to the Times, praising him as a caring and attractive partner.
Platner, a former war veteran, had previously apologized for his social media posts and covered up the tattoo. He opened up about dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which he attributes to his time in the military.
In a statement on Thursday, he said: “Throughout this campaign, I have been open about a very dark period in my life when I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, frequently self-abused alcohol, and was a far from perfect boyfriend. “I take responsibility for all of that and wish I could get better.
“Any characterization beyond that is inaccurate, and I believe it was politically motivated. I’m not proud of who I was then, but I’m proud of the work I’ve done since and the movement we’ve built in Maine.”
Most Democrats remained silent. But Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman, a frequent critic of the party leadership and critic of Platner, said: “It’s no surprise. What will be interesting will be how his supporters react to this.”
Manu Raju, CNN’s chief congressional correspondent, added to x He said Fetterman told him Maine voters should switch to the state’s governor, Janet Mills, who suspended her campaign against Platner but remained on the ballot.
Los Angeles-based Democratic strategist Michael Trujillo posted on
Republicans evaluated the latest report. Texas Senator Ted Cruz wrote to x: “Women who dated Graham Platner say he was insulting, volatile, physically threatening, had a ‘cavalier disdain’ of women, and made offhand jokes about his ‘Totenkopf’ Nazi tattoo. This isn’t a bad Reddit post. It’s a pattern. And every bit of it belongs to the Democrats.”
Delanie BomarA spokesman for the Republican National Committee said: “Every day comes another deeply disturbing revelation about Graham Platner. If he was willing to do this to his own girlfriend, imagine what he would be willing to do in a position of political power.”
Earlier this week, Platner traveled to Washington to meet with several Democratic senators, just days after it was announced that he and his wife were experiencing marital problems and that he was seeking counseling after it was reported that he was sending sexually explicit text messages to other women.
If nominated, he will face Senator Susan CollinsA Republican will seek his sixth six-year term in November. Defeating Collins is crucial to Democrats’ efforts to regain control of the Senate.
