Democrats’ concerns grow over Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner amid sexual texting revelations
Democrats’ concerns grow over Senate candidate Graham Platner amid sexual texts
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said Platner has “questions to answer” following reports of his sexually explicit extramarital messages to women.
A top Democrat on Sunday expressed “concerns” about Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner in the wake of reports that he exchanged sexually explicit texts with multiple women, which his wife said she flagged to his campaign.
Asked about the controversy on ABC News, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said, “Yeah I have concerns. That guy has questions to answer and that’s what campaigns are for.”
The oyster farmer and Marnie Corps veteran’s wife, Amy Gertner, informed a senior campaign aide last summer that he had exchanged sexual messages with several women, according to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Gertner acknowledged in a lengthy video released on social media Saturday evening that she had informed her husband’s campaign about his activity. “I confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend,” she said.
That person, former state Rep. Genevieve McDonald, who left the Platner campaign last fall, said she was warned by the Senate candidate’s campaign that she would be accused of sabotage if she cooperated with news outlets reporting on Platner’s sexually explicit texts, according to Maine’s Bangor Daily News. The Daily News said the warning came in the form of a message from political media strategist Morris Katz, who helped get Zohran Mamdani elected mayor of New York City.
Asked for comment about the allegations, the Platner campaign issued a statement — not from the candidate or a spokesperson for his campaign — but from his wife. Gertner’s statement adhered closely to the message she shared in her video.
Booker, a leading Democrat and potential 2028 presidential candidate, explained his position on Platner, saying, “So much is riding on Democrats taking control of the Senate … It’s time we take back the Senate and that’s what I’m focused on.”
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Levar Stoney, the former mayor of Richmond, Virginia, said in a post on X: “I can’t help but think that if this candidate were a person of color or a woman, my party would be asking them to consider stepping aside immediately. A Nazi tattoo! Now this. I want Democrats to take back the Senate — but not like this.”
Rhonda Elaine Foxx, a former campaign aide to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, criticized Platner for leaving it to his wife to address the matter rather than doing it himself. “This is horrific,” she wrote on social media. “Asking her do this is TRASH.”
Platner, who has been engulfed in controversy for months — including over a Nazi-style tattoo he had on his body for many years — became the presumptive Senate Democratic nominee to face Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in November after Maine Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the race in late April.
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., appearing on MS NOW’s “Alex Witt Reports” dismissed the issue as one to be resolved privately between Platner and his wife. And he pointed to President Donald Trump’s multiple controversies, which he said are “enabled by Susan Collins.”
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told CBS News that Platner has “made mistakes,” but defined the Maine Senate race as “between somebody who has spent his life protecting us versus somebody who seems to be protecting Donald Trump’s corruption.”
Gertner defended her marriage to Platner and said that she and her husband have been working through their issues in counseling. “We work on our mental health every day,” she said.
She called the news reports about her husband’s extramarital sexting “extra shitty” and said she’s “really angry” and “disappointed” by the media coverage about that rather than focusing on Platner’s policy plans. She added that she and her husband “love each other deeply.”
Another congressional Democrat, Rep. Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts, said last week that Platner’s tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, which he later covered up, and past comments are reason enough not to support his candidacy.
“I’ve been clear about Graham Platner. I find that tattoo and his commentary about it to be personally disqualifying,” Auchincloss told CNN last week.
Kate Bedingfield, former Biden White House communications director, said on CNN Sunday, “I think there’s a lot about Graham Platner frankly that is unpalatable.” She noted “he was not my choice,” but said it’s up to the voters of Maine to decide whether they want him.
Other Democrats defended Platner after his latest controversy surfaced in news reports. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said in a statement on social media that he was proud of Platner for “having the character to stand up against the war in Iran, against genocide, and against an unfair & lopsided economy.”
Asked about the sexting revelations on Sunday, Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., told CNN, “I will work with whoever the people of Maine elect, but I hope that they elect somebody that is going to stand up to this president, work with me to be able to fight back against all these dangers.”
While Mills dropped out of the Democratic primary race, she does not appear to have taken the step to have her name removed from the ballot. That means her name will likely still be on the ballot alongside Platner’s in the June 9 primary, which Platner has been widely expected to win.
The second Monday in July is a notable date to watch. According to Maine law, 5 p.m. on that day is the deadline for a candidate to withdraw for reasons other than “catastrophic” illness, condition, injury or death. If a primary winner withdrew by that time, it would be to the state’s Democratic political committee to nominate a new candidate by the fourth Monday in July.
Dem lawmakers gripe about the 'economic violence' of not being paid to stay home from work when menstruating
Rep. Adelita Grijalva used the phrase while promoting a bill that has 28 Democratic cosponsors and zero Republicans
Democratic lawmakers complained in late May about employers not providing paid leave for painful menstruation cycles, calling it "economic violence."
"Forcing a worker to choose between paying her rent or losing a day's pay to recover from a grueling gynecological procedure is not a choice. It’s economic violence," Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., said during a press conference on May 21.
Grijalva was joined by Reps. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who are backing Ansari's Reproductive Healthcare Leave Act, which is a part of her "H.E.R." (Healthy, Equity, Rights) Agenda.
NJ SENATE VOTES 38–0 TO REQUIRE FREE MENSTRUAL PRODUCTS AT PUBLIC COLLEGES UNDER ‘MENSTRUAL EQUITY’ BILL
Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., told TIME in an article published on Sunday that she often ends up "on the bathroom floor, in the fetal position, crying, moaning, or vomiting" from menstrual pain. (Getty Images)
The Reproductive Healthcare Leave Act (H.R. 8158) — the flagship bill — would provide up to 12 days of paid leave per year for reproductive health needs, including severe menstrual pain, abortions, menopause symptoms, miscarriages, biopsies, vasectomies and more. The "H.E.R." Agenda also includes studies regarding gynecological pain management and Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder awareness.
"No one should have to choose between their paycheck and their health to be able to manage that kind of incredible pain," Tlaib said during the press conference.
The paid leave bill would require employers to provide 12 days of paid leave each year for reproductive health issues. (iStock)
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Ansari, the youngest woman in Congress, ties the bill to her own period pain, telling TIME in an article published on Sunday that she once woke up the floor of her "local bodega, drenched in sweat, being dragged into an ambulance" and said she has days every month when she feels "barbed wire" inside of her.
The bill, introduced Saturday with 28 Democratic cosponsors and zero Republican sponsors, has already received backlash.
"Ladies, you can’t keep saying men can be women, but then also say that women are a special category. You’ve got to pick a lane. You’re very confusing to the rest of us." Rhode Island state Rep. Marie Hopkins, R., posted on X.
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Some social media users also questioned whether the bill could more easily allow employees to discriminate against hiring women and shared concerns that despite it covering vasectomies, men wouldn't receive paid days for prostate issues and testosterone-related conditions.
Other users also questioned if the bill could force employers to pay workers for time off to recover from abortions.
The bill is endorsed by Planned Parenthood, the National Organization for Women (NOW) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Planned Parenthood has endorsed Ansari's agenda. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP)
Planned Parenthood Votes vice president Angela Vasquez-Giroux told Bloomberg in an article published on Friday that though there were "roadblocks to the bills becoming law," it doesn't mean lawmakers shouldn't try.
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"We’ve seen overwhelming success from candidates who have a plan and have a point of view," vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood Votes Angela Vasquez-Giroux told Bloomberg. "Just because we can’t get something passed over the opposition of the majority at the time doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be putting forward our vision for the world we want to create.
