Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner canceled his scheduled events in Washington, D.C., and New York City on Wednesday after reporters visited his family’s home and his mother’s restaurant in Maine. This information was confirmed by multiple outlets, including a report from NOTUS.
Journalists from the New York Post reportedly arrived at the residence of Platner’s mother-in-law and the restaurant owned by his mother on Wednesday. As a result, Platner canceled a planned event with the Democratic veterans group VoteVets and decided to end the remainder of his trip, which included a stop in New York.
Platner's visit to the district was primarily to meet with lawmakers following a recent scandal involving the revelation of sexually explicit messages he sent to other women while married to his wife, Amy Gertner. Gertner had informed Platner’s then-political director about the messages last summer.
The campaign has faced several controversies, including past Reddit posts by Platner and a tattoo that resembled Nazi imagery. Despite these issues, Platner met with multiple Senators this week to secure support for his candidacy against incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had initially supported Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) for the Democratic nomination but shifted his support to Platner after Mills withdrew from the race due to insufficient funding and poor polling. Schumer, along with Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), is backing Platner.
On Tuesday, Schumer refrained from providing further details about his support for Platner after a closed-door meeting with him, stating, "As I said, I endorsed Graham Platner. We’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate."
Platner is currently positioned to be the Democratic nominee against Collins, as he is the only prominent candidate on the primary ballot and is leading in primary polling. A recent poll from the University of New Hampshire indicates that Platner is ahead of Collins by single digits.
