{"id":2606994,"date":"2026-05-26T14:37:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/auchincloss-denies-backing-collins-over-platner-in-maine-race\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T14:39:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:39:10","slug":"auchincloss-denies-backing-collins-over-platner-in-maine-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/auchincloss-denies-backing-collins-over-platner-in-maine-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Auchincloss denies backing Collins over Platner in Maine race"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fauchincloss-denies-backing-collins-over-platner-in-maine-race%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2606994&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) pushed back against criticism that his refusal to endorse maine\u2019s senate candidate Graham Platner amounted to support for Republican Sen. Susan Collins. The backlash began after Auchincloss said he found Platner\u2019s controversial nazi-symbology tattoo-covered only after he decided to run-\u201cpersonally disqualifying,\u201d adn said he would vote for someone else in the Maine Democratic primary if he were in platner\u2019s place.<\/p>\n<p>Auchincloss, speaking to CNN, criticized Platner\u2019s tattoo and accompanying comments, and later reiterated in a statement that he is not backing collins. He condemned the insinuations while emphasizing that Democrats must win the Senate in November, and he cited his record of supporting Democratic efforts to take control of both chambers.<\/p>\n<p>His <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >remarks drew renewed fire<\/a> from some Democrats and labor advocates, including political strategist rob Flaherty and the UAW\u2019s Helen Brosnan, who argued that Auchincloss was effectively making room for a Republican to win. Auchincloss\u2019s Democratic challenger, Jason Poulos, also attacked him and criticized Majority Democrats PAC as a billionaire-funded group steering the party away from labor and economic-justice priorities.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) denied claims he was supporting Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/susan-collins\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1302\">Susan Collins<\/a> (R-ME) in Maine\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/senate\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/senate\/\">Senate<\/a> race after backlash to his opposition to Democratic Senate candidate <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/graham-platner\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"22643\">Graham Platner\u2019s<\/a> bid. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Auchincloss, who is Jewish, said Monday during an interview with CNN that he found Platner\u2019s controversial\u00a0tattoo, which resembled a Nazi symbol before he had it covered, and his commentary about it to be \u201cpersonally disqualifying.\u201d <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4581857\/platner-takes-aim-susan-collins-we-will-defeat-oligarchy\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Platner takes aim at Susan Collins: \u2018We will defeat the oligarchy\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4581699\/dem-jake-auchincloss-refuses-endorse-platner-disqualifying-tattoo\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Democrat Jake Auchincloss refuses to endorse Platner over \u2018disqualifying\u2019 tattoo<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4581753\/congressional-black-caucus-writes-companies-oppose-redistricting-efforts\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Congressional Black Caucus writes hundreds of companies to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-jake-auchincloss-refuses-to-endorse-platner-over-disqualifying-tattoo\/\" title=\"Democrat ... refuses to ... over &#039;disqualifying&#039; ...\">oppose redistricting efforts<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His comment sparked outcry from some Democrats, who felt his opposition to Platner, the presumed Democratic nominee after Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) dropped out of the race, meant he was supporting Collins\u2019s reelection bid. <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a Tuesday statement, Auchincloss rejected accusations that he was working against Democratic efforts to retake the Senate in November, and disavowed Collins, whom he called a \u201crubber stamp for the worst admin in history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cClaims that I would endorse her, implicitly or otherwise, ignore my track record supporting Democrats to take back both chambers,\u201d Auchincloss wrote. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the Massachusetts Democrat dug his heels in to oppose Planter\u2019s bid, saying if it were him, \u201cI\u2019d vote for someone else in the Maine Democratic primary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs I said months ago, I find Platner\u2019s Nazi tattoo and his commentary about it personally disqualifying,\u201d Auchincloss said. \u201cRegardless of what happens in Maine, Democrats need to take back the Senate and I\u2019ll keep working hard to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s clear that Congressman Auchincloss is getting pummeled by the far-Left for stating the obvious \u2014 they shouldn\u2019t support someone who wore a Nazi tattoo for eighteen years and only covered it up when he decided to run for Senate,\u201d a spokesperson for Collins\u2019s campaign said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> has reached out to Graham for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Auchincloss\u2019s Monday statement opposing Platner sparked backlash from some Democrats, with political strategist Rob Flaherty saying a Republican-controlled Senate is \u201coutside the realm of acceptability\u201d for a Democrat to support.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m all for Democratic Heterodoxy\u2122\ufe0f but I generally think \u2018there should be a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/historic-significance-of-georgia-senate-contests\/\" title=\"Historic Significance of Georgia ... Contests\">republican-controlled senate<\/a>\u2019 is outside the realm of acceptability,\u201d Flaherty, an alum of both former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris\u2019s campaigns, said in a post to X.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a subsequent post, Flaherty called it \u201codd\u201d for Auchincloss, the chairman of the Majority Democrats political action committee, to \u201cendorse against both Democrats and a Majority.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Helen Brosnan, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/leftist-shout-close-private-detention-centers-abolish-ice-biden-pleads-i-agree-with-you-give-me-another-five-days\/\" title=\"Leftist Shout ...Close Private Detention Centers! Abolish ICE!\u2019 ...en Pleads, ...I Agree With You \u2026 Give Me Another Five Days\u2019\">national political director<\/a> for the United Auto Workers, similarly rejected Auchincloss\u2019s comments, writing in an X post that the Democrat hated a \u201cpro-labor, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/peru-votes-to-impeach-its-fifth-president-in-6-years\/\" title=\"Peru Votes to Impeach Its Fifth President in 6 Years\">anti-establishment candidate<\/a> so much\u201d that he was rooting \u201cfor a Republican to win and ensure we lose the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jason Poulos, who is running to unseat Auchincloss in the Democratic primary on Sept. 1, denounced the incumbent\u2019s opposition to Platner in a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> and referred to the Majority Democrats PAC as a \u201cbillionaire-funded group built to steer the party away from talking about taxing the rich, regulating corporations, and worker power.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/economy\/4581857\/platner-takes-aim-susan-collins-we-will-defeat-oligarchy\/\"><strong>GRAHAM PLATNER BLASTS \u2018OLIGARCHY\u2019 ON PORTLAND TOUR<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen a Democrat wins by running against the donor class, the chair of Majority Democrats shows up on cable news to declare that Democrat disqualified,\u201d he wrote. \u201cYou cannot complain about the influence of money in politics while running a party-within-the-party funded by that donor class, and then tell Democratic primary voters in another state which of their nominees is allowed to win.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He continued, \u201cThe voters of MA-4 deserve a representative focused on building a Democratic majority, not one carrying water for the donors trying to handpick it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Auchincloss denies backing Susan Collins after backlash over opposition to Graham Platner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2912,"featured_media":2606995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-collage-w91ipje6u-1779814278415-e1779817931914.jpg?1779803520&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[80288,34059,44953,45119,54643],"class_list":["post-2606994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-campaign-endorsements","tag-election-2024","tag-government-reform","tag-maine-politics","tag-paul-lepage"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-collage-w91ipje6u-1779814278415-e1779817931914.jpg?1779803520&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2606994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2912"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2606994"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2606994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2606998,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2606994\/revisions\/2606998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2606995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2606994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2606994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2606994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}