Scandal-ridden Graham Platner has officially become the Democratic nominee to face off against Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins in the high-stakes Maine Senate race.
Platner sailed through the Democratic primary Tuesday, securing roughly 74% of the vote as of 9:30 pm, according to NBC News. Democrat Maine Gov. Janet Mills was on the ballot despite dropping out earlier in the race, ultimately earning roughly 18% of the vote. (RELATED: Democratic Congresswoman Says Maine Senate Candidate Graham Platner Has ‘Disqualified Himself’)
Collins ran uncontested in the Republican primary and will face off against Platner to defend her seat in the November general election.
ORONO, MAINE – MAY 24: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner stand together during a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour stop at the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus on May 24, 2026 in Orono, Maine. Platner is the presumptive Democratic nominee and will face incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) for Maine’s U.S. Senate seat in the general election. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Platner faced some serious accusations throughout his campaign, most recently from a former girlfriend who alleged that he had been physically rough with her during their relationship. Lyndsey Fifield, the former girlfriend who was quoted in a New York Times story, claimed that Platner had once grabbed her shoulders so hard that he left marks, that he locked her in a room overnight after a heated argument, and that he pulled her out of a cab by her wrists.
Another scandal that has hovered over the Platner campaign includes the leaked explicit text messages Platner had sent to multiple women in the early days of his marriage, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. These messages were notably turned over by one of Platner’s former campaign staffers who was shown the messages by his wife in the early days of the campaign.
The infamous Nazi tattoo similarly loomed over most of his campaign, with Platner eventually getting a cover-up tattoo. The tattoo was originally of a Totenkopf that he got while he was on leave with his fellow Marines in Split, Croatia.
Despite his colorful past, Platner breezed through the Democratic primary and will face off against Collins on November 3.
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