Democrats Argue Backing Platner Isn’t Like Backing Trump

WALDOBORO, Maine — The dynamics are familiar to anyone who has followed national politics in the last decade: a populist on his way to trouncing the establishment candidate in a primary, and a party whose members are betting on a less-than-perfect frontrunner with obvious momentum.

This isn’t President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. It’s Graham Platner, the favorite in Maine’s closely watched U.S. Senate primary, and Democrats.

And in the state, voters say that despite those similarities, the situation is not the same for a number of reasons ranging from the nature of the controversies to how the politicians have navigated the fallout.

“There are big differences, despite the background,” Paula X, a member of the Waldoboro Democratic Town Committee, told NOTUS at one of the organization’s meetings Monday night. “Platner owns what he did, he talks about it, he explains it, he’s not proud of it, and he is working on being better.”

On Tuesday, voters will choose between Platner and the other leading candidate Gov. Janet Mills, the candidate reluctantly coaxed into the race whose campaign largely fizzled. Democrats are resigned to the reality that they’re likely to enter the general election against Sen. Susan Collins with Platner, a candidate facing backlash.

Among the controversies Platner has had to respond to are past derogatory remarks on Reddit, which he apologized for, and a tattoo that looked like a Nazi symbol, which he subsequently covered up. In response to reporting about extramarital sexting, he and his wife have been open about their marriage not being perfect and how they see a counselor. In response to New York Times reporting about intimidating behavior toward past girlfriends, Platner said, “I take responsibility for all of that, and wish I had been better.”

That accountability is why some supporters say they’re willing to stick with him now.

“Trump never claimed to have changed,” said Briana Markoff, a voter in Brunswick, Maine, who identifies as a democratic socialist. “He never came out against misogyny after he said he wanted to grab a woman by the pussy. Platner has said very clearly that he’s learned a lot, he’s grown a lot. His wife stands by him, and I don’t think we have any option but to trust that at this point.”

In response to an inquiry from NOTUS, the campaign sent a press release highlighting news interviews with Maine voters saying that they value Platner’s authenticity and will continue to stand behind him.

At a town hall Friday night, Platner said his past was being used against him.

“Maine, you have my back,” he said. “As every single piece of [my] past and journey gets dug up, litigated and weaponized, you have my back.”

Trump faced an entirely different set of allegations against him as a candidate, ranging from the “Access Hollywood” tape that threatened to tank his 2016 campaign to being convicted in the midst of his 2024 campaign of falsifying past business records. There are countless other controversies that have given Republicans reason to think twice, only to rally around him.

“I get really tired of Democrats being held to some lofty moral standard when Republicans are just ‘boys will be boys,’” said Ann Leamon, the co-chair of the Waldoboro Democrats, who said she was speaking for herself and not on behalf of the town or county party.

Leamon acknowledged that Platner’s controversies make him a risk for the party.

“Of course, you’d like a choir boy. Who wouldn’t like a choir boy?” she said. “But it’s the internet age, it’s the ‘everything’s out there’ age.”

Yet, she said he has better odds of beating Collins than Mills. A few months ago, Platner would have been a “no-brainer” candidate that could beat Collins, Leamon said. The recent allegations shake that up.

“Now he’s giving people things to think about,” she said. “In a way it’s, ‘Do you believe in redemption?’”

Several voters NOTUS spoke to in Maine said that the issues surrounding Platner concerned them, but they appreciate that he’s acknowledged his mistakes and apologized. They say he’s pushing a message that resonates with them. And, they really want to beat Collins.

“Some people are comparing [Platner] to Trump as being sort of a rebel who says what he wants and stuff,” said Rebecca Waddell, a Democrat in Waldoboro. “He’s clearly much more educated, he’s much more rational.”

Even one Democrat who planned to vote against Platner in the primary said she saw the situation as completely different.

“Those people chose to support an immoral human in order to get immoral policies through,” said Lindsay Livingston, who is not voting for Platner due to his tattoo and past remarks, said about Republicans. “So, no, I don’t think that’s the same thing as hoping and trusting someone who’s promising more moral policies.”