Graham Platner Controversies: Concerning or Overblown?

Maine's presumptive Democratic nominee for November's Senate election, Graham Platner, has been involved in a series of media controversies recently, prompting split opinions across the spectrum.

For Context: Over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal (Center bias) reported that last year, shortly after Platner announced his candidacy, his wife told members of his campaign that he had been sending sexually explicit text messages to other women. The Journal cited anonymous "people familiar with the matter" as its sources. Earlier in May, The Maine Monitor shared an archive of now-deleted Reddit comments from Platner, which prompted additional coverage throughout the rest of the month. Platner has also faced criticism for a tattoo of his that some say is symbolic of Nazism.

What's Next?: Jeffrey Blehar (Lean Right) of National Review Opinion (Right) commented on the growing number of controversies and suggested that, in light of the most recent sexting scandal, there could be more troubling revelations coming. Blehar noted, "These new stories are primarily coming from (and being confirmed by) Genevieve McDonald, Platner's former political director, who resigned in October." He said, "As all of these stories about Platner's personal rottenness drip forth, all with immaculate sourcing and ironclad claims, I begin to ask myself: What remaining skeletons could possibly be hiding in Graham Platner's closet that would make McDonald not only quit his campaign, but also potentially dynamite her own career in order to tell the truth about him? What are we about to find out next about Graham Platner?"

'Nothing Is Disqualifying': In an opinion for the LA Times (Lean Left), Matt K. Lewis argued that "nothing is disqualifying" since President Trump became involved in politics. He wrote, "Under old 'pre-Trump' rules, Platner's campaign would have withered instantly after revelations that he once had a Totenkopf SS tattoo, previously identified himself as a communist, said Black people were poor tippers, and wrote that white people 'actually are' as racist and stupid as Trump thinks they are." Lewis concluded, "The question now is whether Trumpism has become America's permanent political operating system — or whether the new rules apply only to Trump himself."

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