As Maine’s Senate race is heating up, Democrat Graham Platner made a controversial call after his primary rival Governor Janet Mills pulled out on Thursday. The progressive political outsider and oyster farmer will work to unseat Republican Sen Susan Collins now. The race is considered a must-win for Democrats, who need a net gain of four seats in November’s midterms to claim a Senate majority. Collins, 73, is widely viewed as the most vulnerable Republican up for reelection.
Graham Platner’s latest move
It was revealed on Friday that Platner has decided to pull out of the upcoming Democratic primary debates. His campaign told the Portland Press Herald that the 41-year-old is instead focusing on beating Collins in November. He was scheduled to debate fellow Democrat David Costello.
Read More: Why Janet Mills walked away from senate race. Shocking reason behind Maine Gov’s decision
CBS 13, which planned to host one of the debates, confirmed the new decision.
“I get the Platner camp’s logic in withdrawing from the 5 scheduled debates, yet this move cuts short important policy discussions and conversations and shortchanges Maine voters, most of whom haven’t fully focused on June’s primary election. I hope he’ll reconsider,” Costello, a former Maine government official, posted on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
Graham Platner’s Reddit, tatoo controversies
Platner’s controversies, however, continue to follow him. The US Marine and Army veteran, who served four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, had praised Hamas’s military tactics on Reddit. The graphic video showing a 2014 Hamas raid that killed at least five Israeli soldiers had surfaced.
Platner’s now-deleted Reddit profile was reportedly under the username ‘P-Hustle’. He wrote, “Looks like an all around well executed and successful small unit raid to me.” His comments appeared on the Reddit forum r/CombatFootage.
Read More: ‘See you in court’: The Trump confrontation that may have costed Janet Mills her Senate bid
Another controversy follows the Democratic candidate. He faced intense scrutiny over a chest tattoo resembling the Nazi Totenkopf (death’s head) symbol. Platner said he got the tattoo in 2007 when he was in Croatia. He covered it up with another tattoo. The new design is a Celtic knot with a dog-like creature.
Platner significantly outraised Mills, bringing in $7.8 million to her $2.6 million last year. The Republican party has already committed tens of millions of dollars to backing Collins in the general election, which looks to be one of the hardest-fought nationwide this cycle.
(With Bloomberg inputs)
