Democrats navigate a new Graham Platner controversy in Maine’s battleground Senate race

2026 ElectionDemocrats navigate a new Graham Platner controversy in Maine’s battleground Senate raceParty divisions have grown as Democratic leaders and activists debate the seriousness of the scandals surrounding Platner, who is critical in their drive to win the Senate.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleDemocratic Senate candidate faces new scandal01:41Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 4, 2026, 11:22 PM EDTBy Natasha Korecki, Bridget Bowman and Sahil KapurFor the Democratic Party, the road to Maine’s Senate primary is paved in dread. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.All Graham Platner had to do was glide into Tuesday’s election to clinch the state’s Democratic Senate nomination, since Gov. Janet Mills abruptly suspended her campaign in late April. But with each passing day, the divisions inside the party have grown as some lawmakers and activists say they are increasingly alarmed over the breadth and depth of controversies and scandals facing the military veteran. As some Democrats nervously wondered what the next controversy might be, they worried he might be too risky a candidate to face off against the party’s great white whale: longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Some were already researching the mechanism to replace Platner should he withdraw from the ticket when the next shoe dropped Thursday afternoon. In a lengthy report, The New York Times interviewed three of Platner’s former girlfriends, who described his behavior as “toxic” and “unsettling” at times. One woman, Lyndsey Fifield, recounted an argument when they dated — from roughly 2013 to 2015 — during which Platner “twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom and held the door closed from the other side so she couldn’t get out, telling her to remain there until she was ‘calm.’” Fifield also claimed that Platner knew the meaning behind a Nazi tattoo he has since c...