NYT Pollster: Maine Voters Give Edge to Violent Nazi-Tatted Kik Creeper

Graham Platner’s campaign uses the slogan, “They don’t know Maine.” If polls give an accurate picture of Herr Totenkopf’s standing with the electorate, perhaps “they” don’t.

Easily one of the more depressing developments in the midterm cycle, Platner’s continued presence in this race despite his Nazi SS tattoo, credible allegations of domestic violence, and an adult life of mooching off his parents would be nearly inexplicable in any other year. Reportedly, Democrats want Platner off the ballot, not just because of these issues but because they believe worse will emerge when it becomes too late to replace him. The most obvious of the Rumsfeldian known-unknowns involve Der Oysterführer’s half-naked profile pic and years of activity on Kik, a platform considered a “predator’s paradise” by anti-trafficking groups for its easy access to adolescents.

Maine’s Democrats have until July 13 to get Platner to withdraw voluntarily, which would allow the party – Democrats, that is, not the Democratic Socialists of America – to nominate a replacement at their state convention. That argument would carry more weight if Maine’s voters rejected Platner outright for his Nazi tattoo, his lies about it, the allegations of battery from Lyndsey Fifield, his former campaign manager’s denunciation, or just that Platner is a middle-aged man mooching off his parents.

Unfortunately for everyone, we don’t live in a rational version of 2026. New York Times’ pollster Siena reports that Platner currently enjoys a slight edge over incumbent centrist Susan Collins in the US Senate race:

Mr. Platner leads the race by two percentage points among likely voters, capturing the support of 49 percent, compared to 47 percent for Ms. Collins. It is a slight advantage, but one that is considered too small for polls to measure reliably, and which could easily grow or shrink as campaigning ramps up.

An oysterman who has never held elected office, Mr. Platner, 41, rode a populist message to the Democratic nomination despite reports about offensive online posts, a tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol and his treatment of women. But the poll found that he is failing to attract some voters who otherwise want to see Democrats take power in Washington.

Ahem. There is no such thing as “oysterman,” as several people have tried to explain. Platner threatened one Maine journalist with a defamation lawsuit over this point and the claim that Platner is a “pathological liar.” That dispute relates to Steve Robinson’s claim that Platner’s oyster-farming business started after his Senate run launched, when Platner says he’d been operating it for a few years at that point. What apparently is not in dispute is that his only client is his mother’s restaurant, and that Platner lives in a house bought through a loan from his father. Platner also doesn’t have any other record of consistent full-time employment since leaving the military for good a decade ago. 

Again, one might think that a candidate with this much baggage would prompt voters and party leaders to shun him. That’s clearly not happening, at least not yet, in Maine. The Siena poll is not an outlier either, although its shows the highest level of support for both candidates in surveys taken this month. The Real Clear Politics aggregation in this race does not give much hope that a groundswell of outrage is forming against Der Oysterführer. Platner has led in every poll thus far since last month, although the three most recent surveys put the race in the virtual-tie range. 

There is at least a glimmer of hope in Siena’s data, however. Democrats have succeeded in nationalizing the race in Maine, arguing that the real point of the election is to wrest control of the Senate from Republicans and Donald Trump. However, while that argument appears to be winning, Platner himself is beginning to erode its prospects:

Fifty-four percent of voters said they would like to see Democrats control the Senate next year, a notably higher percentage than the percent of respondents who said they supported Mr. Platner. In fact, Ms. Collins, the Republican, is winning 10 percent of voters who prefer Democratic control.

Had Democrats backed Janet Mills, they could have started measuring the drapes already. As it happens, though, Platner’s presence on the ticket may start voters to question whether this really suits their interests in Maine. Voters do understand that having a senior Senator pays benefits:

While Ms. Collins, 73, is not broadly popular in the state — about as many voters view her positively as negatively — voters’ views of the senator remain largely unchanged since 2020, when she won re-election by 9 percentage points, outperforming President Trump in the state. Likely voters view her more favorably than Mr. Trump by nearly 10 percentage points, and they said they appreciated her ability to bring federal resources to Maine.

Another potential strength for Platner could flip to a liability quickly. Siena shows Platner winning 52% of women voters, which may actually be a little light in terms of the normal Democrat gender-gap advantage. If more women come forward to establish a pattern of abuse by Platner, and especially if his Kik message threads get published, that power base may rapidly dissipate. Or perhaps it won’t; it’s nearly inexplicable how anyone would support Platner given all that has already emerged. Maybe Maine women won’t care about Platner’s own history with female partners, but at the very least, it would almost certainly dent their enthusiasm for a man who forced his girlfriend into a room and locked her inside for hours after a physical assault. 

Maine Democrats have two weeks left to get enough leverage to force Platner to withdraw before the shoes really start dropping. Whatever they’re doing this month clearly isn’t working, though. And that should make Republicans either very happy … or very nervous. 

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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