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Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner dodged questions from reporters Tuesday before and after a meeting at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee amid an alleged sexting scandal and criticism over resurfaced online posts.
“Mr. Platner, are you here to calm the waters, sir?” Platner was asked by Fox News Digital when confronted as he exited a car to meet with lawmakers, but he did not respond.
He then ignored other questions on whether he deserves to represent Maine in the U.S. Senate, whether he will stay in the race, and controversies from his past.
DEM SENATORS DEFLECT QUESTIONS ON PLATNER’S SCANDAL-PLAGUED CAMPAIGN: ‘NOT FOLLOWING THAT RACE CLOSELY’
Platner, who is currently leading in the polls, was attending a planned meeting with Democratic senators in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday as concerns from both sides of the political spectrum have emerged over sexual misconduct and infidelity allegations.
In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, Platner said: “Amy and I went through something hard — because of me.”
“We did the work, and I’m grateful for her every hour of every day,” he added. “I’ve learned throughout this campaign is that people don’t care about gossip or headlines, they care that you’re fighting for their hospitals, their paycheck, their kids.”
The Democratic candidate’s wife Amy Gertner, discovered text exchanges between Platner and multiple women just months after they were married in 2024.
Platner’s campaign confirmed the sexually-explicit messages to Politico after The Wall Street Journal reported that Gertner discovered the texts soon after they were wed and warned a campaign aide about potential political liabilities for Platner’s Senate bid.
SENATE CANDIDATE GRAHAM PLATNER SENT EXPLICIT TEXTS TO MULTIPLE WOMEN WHILE MARRIED, WIFE SAYS: REPORT
In a video posted to X on Saturday, Gertner also defended her husband against cheating-related attacks.
“So it makes me really angry — disappointed, and I find it really shameful that there’s a group of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip instead of talking about real issues that Graham is running on, like healthcare and education and childcare,” she said.
It was also discovered that Platner has an active account on Kik, an anonymous messaging app that has drawn criticism from child safety advocates and is widely associated with anonymous encounters. The profile, created in 2016 and reviewed by Fox News Digital, contains a sexually suggestive photo of Platner posing shirtless with only a towel wrapped around his waist.
A campaign official told Fox News Digital that Platner downloaded the app when he was single and claimed it has “long been deleted from his phone.”
PLATNER STILL HAS ACTIVE ACCOUNT ON ANONYMOUS APP DUBBED ‘PREDATOR’S PARADISE’ AMID CHEATING SCANDAL
Deleted online posts and a Nazi-linked tattoo have added to the controversies surrounding Platner and his bid for U.S. Senate.
The Marine Corps veteran who served four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan faced backlash for a June 2019 Reddit post he made saying Purple Heart veteran Teddy Daniels, who was shot four times during a 2012 clash with Taliban fighters, “didn’t deserve to live.”
He declined to apologize for the online comments in a video taken by Fox News Digital last month.
Platner will appear on the ballot alongside David Costello in the Democratic Senate primary in Maine. Voters will decide on June 9 who will face incumbent five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.
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