{"id":2613276,"date":"2026-06-11T07:26:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T11:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-democrats-three-defenses-of-graham-platner\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T07:27:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T11:27:30","slug":"the-democrats-three-defenses-of-graham-platner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-democrats-three-defenses-of-graham-platner\/","title":{"rendered":"The Democrats&#8217; three defenses of Graham Platner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/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%2Fthe-democrats-three-defenses-of-graham-platner%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=2613276&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>The piece discusses the Maine Senate race in which Republican incumbent Sen.Susan Collins faces Democratic challenger Graham Platner, who won his primary with more than 70% of the vote despite what the article describes as multiple scandals. It notes that Platner has supporters who continue to back him <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >amid allegations including sexually explicit messages<\/a>, abusive behavior toward former partners, a Nazi tattoo, and controversial online posts.<\/p>\n<p>It then outlines three main ways Democrats have defended Platner.First, they argue that political figures-especially Donald Trump-have been excused or forgiven for comparable or worse misconduct, so platner should be judged the same way. Second, they suggest Platner may have PTSD from his Marine Corps service and that his behavior reflects personal trauma and later growth. Third,they dismiss some allegations from an ex-girlfriend as politically motivated,portraying the accuser as tied to right-wing operations.<\/p>\n<p>the article frames these defenses as pragmatic: Maine is portrayed as strategically critically important to Democrats\u2019 chances of reaching Senate control, and there\u2019s said to be insufficient evidence from polling (at least at the time of writing) showing that the allegations make Platner non-viable as a contender.  <\/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\">The Maine Senate race between Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/susan-collins\/\">Susan Collins<\/a> (R-ME) and Democratic challenger <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/graham-platner\/\">Graham Platner<\/a> is on, with Platner winning his primary with more than 70% of the vote despite <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4592977\/graham-platner-unfit-duty\/\">numerous scandals<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Platner\u2019s supporters have stuck by him after <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/daily-memo\/4603116\/time-to-see-graham-platner-sexts-maine-senate-race\/\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-probe-congressional-sexual-misconduct-slush-fund\/\" title=\"... probe congressional sexual misconduct \u2018slush fund\u2019\">sexually explicit texts<\/a><\/a>, reports of physically and emotionally abusive behavior toward ex-girlfriends, a since-covered Nazi tattoo, and a series of controversial Reddit posts.<\/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\/4603788\/florida-supreme-court-republican-congressional-map\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Florida Supreme Court paves way for GOP-backed congressional map<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4603168\/house-democratic-candidates-noncommittal-jeffries-leading-house\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>House Democratic candidates noncommittal on Jeffries leading the House<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4603187\/senate-democrats-urge-reluctant-party-embrace-platner\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Senate Democrats urge a reluctant party to embrace Platner<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Democrats have made many arguments in defense of Platner, the case for excusing his behavior and electing him to the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/senate\/\">Senate<\/a> really boils down to three.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<h2 id=\"h-president-donald-trump\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">President Donald Trump<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many Democrats have taken to arguing that since <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Trump<\/a> has survived many scandals and been forgiven for past bad behavior, so should Platner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Moreover, they argue Republicans and Trump supporters <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebulwark.com\/p\/republicans-have-no-moral-authority-here\">lack the moral authority<\/a> to criticize any of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CurtisHouck\/status\/2064803396108918877\">Platner\u2019s conduct<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BulwarkOnline\/status\/2064757011644875001\">frequently invoke<\/a> Trump\u2019s lewd comment in the <em>Access Hollywood <\/em>tape that was released during the 2016 campaign.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It probably stiffened their resolve when Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4602645\/graham-platner-thug-pig-trump\/\">called<\/a> the 41-year-old Platner a \u201cpig\u201d and a \u201cthug.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These Democrats also make an argument that was commonly heard among Republicans as the party transitioned from Mitt Romney\u2019s leadership to Trump\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI get really tired of Democrats being held to some lofty moral standard when Republicans are just \u2018boys will be boys,\u2019\u201d Ann Leamon, co-chairwoman of the Waldoboro Democrats, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.notus.org\/2026-election\/democrats-platner-primary-trump\">told<\/a> <em>NOTUS <\/em>in a story published on the day of the Maine primary. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Elsewhere in the piece, a Democrat explicitly compares Trump\u2019s <em>Access Hollywood <\/em>comments to the scrutiny of Platner: \u201cTrump never claimed to have changed. He never came out against misogyny after he said he wanted to grab a woman by the p****. Platner has said very clearly that he\u2019s learned a lot, he\u2019s grown a lot. His wife stands by him, and I don\u2019t think we have any option but to trust that at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump did actually say the presidential campaign had changed him in his videotaped remarks apologizing for his \u201clocker room talk.\u201d He also invoked sexual misconduct allegations against former President Bill Clinton, the husband of Trump\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hillary-clinton\/\">2016 general election opponent<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The argument also cuts both ways, as the Collins campaign is likely to emphasize this fall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt doesn\u2019t necessarily matter, the ten-plus years of arguments we\u2019ve made about morals and ethics against Trump and Republicans who\u2019ve empowered Trump, because we can win a seat,\u201d Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton said on CNN. \u201cIt\u2019s very Machiavellian in many ways. And to me, any argument that Democrats have framed against Trump, against Republicans is now null and void. They have revealed themselves to be nothing but hypocrites, nothing but liars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nevertheless, there is no limit to what can be justified in 2026 with three simple words: Orange man bad.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-ptsd\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">PTSD<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another defense of Platner is that he may have gotten <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-gary-sinise-launches-new-initiative-with-home-depot-founders\/\" title=\"WATCH: Gary Sinise Launches New Initiative With Home Depot Founders\">post-traumatic stress disorder<\/a> while at war during his time in the Marine Corps and that he has since demonstrated personal growth in an attempt to improve his behavior.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat it should tell us is we broke a lot of people in this country by sending people to Iraq,\u201d Rep.<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ro-khanna\/\"> Ro Khanna<\/a> (D-CA), a top Platner surrogate, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/ro-khanna-california-democrat-face-the-nation-transcript-06-07-2026\/\">told<\/a> CBS News\u2019s <em>Face the Nation<\/em>. \u201cSusan Collins sent people to Iraq, and now on the 100th day of a war in Iran, we\u2019re breaking more people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Platner has made a version of this argument himself. \u201cThis was a time in my life where I was struggling deeply,\u201d he said in a video posted to social media late last year. \u201cI got out of the Army in 2012, I had PTSD, I had depression, I had all of the things that come with serving in a war, two wars that I eventually began to not believe in at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some military veterans suffering from PTSD have <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/video\/6398021186112\">pushed back <\/a>against this as an explanation for Platner\u2019s controversies, which include <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/platner-called-ptsd-excuse-bull-2020-post-cites-struggle-explain-online-controversies\">past comments about PTSD<\/a> itself. Some of Platner\u2019s tendencies also <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TPCarney\/status\/2064447377134461190\">appear to predate<\/a> his military service. And the sexting scandal is recent enough to call into question how much Platner has changed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nevertheless, this is an explanation many Maine voters may find satisfactory. <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-a-republican-operative\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018A Republican operative\u2019<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Democrats are discounting allegations made by a Platner ex-girlfriend who has worked for the conservative Heritage Foundation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI mean, the only one who had anything to say that seemed unsettling was a woman who works for right-wing political operations,\u201d Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/themainemonitor.org\/democrats-platner-headache-not-going-away\/\">told<\/a> a reporter after saying he was \u201cnot impressed\u201d by the <em>New York Times <\/em>story about Platner\u2019s past relationships.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe person who accused him of physicality is a Republican operative \u2026 who helped write the speech Susan Collins gave on the floor to justify her vote for Brett Kavanaugh,\u201d Maine state Rep. Valli Geiger told CNN. (The accuser, Lyndsey Fifield, never worked for Collins.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4597477\/four-scandal-maine-senate-candidate-graham-platner\/\"><strong>FOUR SCANDALS MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER IS FACING<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is probably the most dangerous line of defense for Democrats because it goes against the \u201cbelieve all women\u201d standard they have previously adhered to and appears to minimize the allegations against Platner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All three defenses add up to one: Maine is important to the Democrats\u2019 path to a Senate majority, and there isn\u2019t yet sufficient polling evidence that the allegations against Platner prevent him from being a competitive candidate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maine Senate race: Platner won a 70% primary despite scandals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2659,"featured_media":2613277,"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\/06\/AP26157011357992.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3685,6571,65649,47057,33017],"class_list":["post-2613276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-democrats","tag-elections","tag-graham-platner","tag-party-strategy","tag-political-analysis"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/AP26157011357992.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613276","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\/2659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2613276"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2613280,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613276\/revisions\/2613280"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2613277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2613276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2613276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2613276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}