Former primary rival resurfaces to challenge scandal-plagued Graham Platner in Maine Senate race
Scandal-plagued democratic socialist Graham Platner’s continued controversies have led his former primary rival to speak out and remind Mainers that she remains on the ballot despite having suspended her campaign.
Platner has been hit with one controversy after another, though he remains the heavy favorite heading into next Tuesday’s primary contest, as his only active opponent, David Costello, has failed to gain traction.
But Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who suspended her campaign for Senate earlier this year, dropped a potential bombshell in comments to a Lewiston Sun-Journal columnist by suggesting Democrats could still vote for her in their effort to unseat 30-year incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, New England’s last remaining federal Republican officeholder.
"People have the impression that I withdrew or dropped out," Mills said, according to columnist Steve Collins.
"I simply suspended active campaigning. I am still on the ballot," said Mills — an outspoken Trump critic who got publicly reprimanded by the president during a White House lunch earlier this year over the subject of biological men in girls’ sports.
While fundraising struggles were cited in Maine media reports as a key reason Mills paused her campaign, Platner has charged ahead through one controversy after another.
His "Totenkopf" chest tattoo — one used by German Nazi concentration camp guards — has been the controversy most frequently cited by Republicans, while his campaign also became embroiled in a separate controversy when a consultant asked Massachusetts-based sports media personality David Portnoy to collaborate on an anti-private-equity campaign against the Boston Red Sox front office.
Portnoy balked at the suggestion, citing his Jewish faith and Platner’s Nazi tattoo.
Platner also defended himself after a Reddit post resurfaced in which he called former Pennsylvania lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Teddy Daniels a "dumb motherf----er" for being badly wounded in a Taliban siege, blaming "poor marksmanship" by the Afghan terrorists for the Republican’s survival.
Otherwise dormant since April 30, Mills’ campaign X account sprang back to life June 1 with a post commemorating Pride Month.
PLATNER CONTROVERSIES FUEL SPECULATION ABOUT LITTLE-KNOWN MAINE BALLOT REPLACEMENT PROVISION
"Everyone deserves the freedom to live authentically and marry who they love without fear. I’m proud to stand with the LGBTQ+ community, today and every day," Mills said.
Meanwhile, Steve Collins wrote in the column containing Mills’ comments that an increasing number of female independent and Democratic voters in Maine are troubled by Platner’s scandals.
He wrote that their collective umbrage is "more likely to kill [Platner’s] campaign… than greedy millionaires."
Susan Collins’ counterpart in the Senate is registered Independent Sen. Angus King Jr., who caucuses with Democrats and reliably votes with them.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Platner campaign and Mills’ office for comment.
The Pine Tree State’s primary is June 9.
