Overview
- Graham Platner remains the presumptive Democratic nominee and the heavy favorite heading into the June 9 primary despite a wave of new reporting about his past conduct.
- The New York Times published accounts from more than two dozen people including former partners who described unsettling behavior, and reporting plus campaign statements confirmed that Platner sent sexually explicit texts while married.
- A chest tattoo resembling a Nazi-era Totenkopf has become a flashpoint after Platner said he got it drunk in Croatia, covered it up, and did not know its meaning while some former partners say he did.
- Prominent Democrats are divided: figures such as Bernie Sanders and James Carville have publicly defended Platner while others, including Rep. Brad Schneider and Sen. John Fetterman, have withheld support and demanded full disclosure of texts and messages.
- The controversy has changed the race dynamics by cutting Platner’s odds on betting markets, prompting Republican ad buys, and placing urgency on the party because Maine law allows the nominee to be replaced only if he withdraws by 5 p.m. on the second Monday in July.