Scandal-plagued Democrat who won Senate primary despite Nazi-linked tattoo 'bragged about it reminding him America was the BAD guy', ex-lover claims

By STEPHEN M. LEPORE, US SENIOR REPORTER Published: 01:42, 12 June 2026 | Updated: 01:42, 12 June 2026 Maine Democrat Senate nominee Graham Platner gave a different explanation of his Nazi-linked tattoo than the one he gave the public while allegedly cheating on his fiancee.  Planter secured the nomination in Tuesday's primary despite an avalanche of scandals, including the tattoo, several affairs and accusations of misconduct by past romantic partners.  A woman who has not been named went public on social media regarding her experiences with Platner. They briefly dated in 2021 while he was engaged to a woman he split up with before dating and marrying his wife, Amy Gertner.  The ex-girlfriend, who describes herself as 'a leftist,' said that when seeing Platner - whom she met on Tinder - with his shirt off, she immediately confronted him. 'As a person who is a leftist, I immediately looked at him and asked him, "Is that a Totenkopf?" and he told me a whole, "He will hold this weight forever" bravado sob story about how it was, but he decided to keep it as a reminder that the United States was the evil, bad guy overseas,' she told The New York Post. Platner released a statement last fall sharing that he had covered the tattoo, adding that he wasn't aware it was an SS symbol when he drunkenly visited a tattoo parlor with his Marine Corps buddies in Split, Croatia, in 2007. 'I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that – and to insinuate that I did is disgusting. I already had the tattoo covered with a new design,' the Democratic candidate said. However, the romantic partner becomes the second woman to claim Platner was aware of his tattoo's significance – something he denied.  Maine Democrat Senate nominee Graham Platner gave a different explanation of his Nazi-linked tattoo than the one he gave the public while allegedly cheating on his fiancee Planter secured the nomination in Tuesday's primary despite an avalanche of scandals, including the tattoo, several affairs and accusations of misconduct by past romantic partners  The romantic partner was just the latest woman to come forward with accusations of infidelity and disingenuous statements from the Democrat.  One woman who spoke about his aggressive behavior in an explosive piece in the New York Times was Lyndsey Fifield, who described several instances of physical intimidation she experienced with Platner.  Fifield also told the Times that Platner knew what the tattoo meant and called it 'my Totenkopf.' On X, Fifield posted messages she'd sent her mother and others in September when Platner began his rise. 'Is Graham Planter [sic] the dude from Maine?' her mother asked. 'Yeah lmaoooooo,' she responded. Her mother joked that Platner was 'hot' but also 'a douche.' The unnamed woman texted back that Platner had a 'small d***' and had a 'Nazi tattoo.'  'It seems like he tailored his answer to me, knowing my politics, since that's one of the reasons we matched on Tinder in the first place,' she said of Platner's excuse.  A woman who has not been named went public on social media regarding her experiences with Platner, whom she briefly dated in 2021 while engaged to a woman he split up with before marrying his wife In a statement posted to X, the woman warned: 'It does not stop here. There will be more information that comes out.' 'There will be more people affected by the harm he has caused or allowed to be caused.' The woman said she deleted all of her messages to Platner after discovering he was cheating but did publicize texts to friends and family about him.   She added the 'I refuse to surrender the small blessing of I am allowed to bestow in the hopes of stalwart leadership to someone I don't think would be a stalwart leader.' 'If I were a Maine voter, seeing the things I'm seeing, I wouldn't have voted for him personal experience notwithstanding, because I do not trust him. Why, after all that has come out, would I?' 'Graham's repeatedly said he picked a skull-and-crossbones tattoo off a wall in Croatia to commemorate surviving Ramadi and his friends who were killed there,' a campaign spokesperson said.  'Graham has also since covered up the tattoo, and answered countless questions about it.' 'Unlike Susan Collins, who refuses to take questions on her disastrous vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, gut rural hospitals, and supported every foreign war of the last thirty years,' they added.  Platner's Kik profile picture, viewed by the Daily Mail, showed the Democratic candidate posing shirtless and in only a towel In this photo provided by WGME, Graham Platner, a democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, points to a cover-up tattoo that had previously been an image recognized as a Nazi symbol The Daily Mail has reached out to the Platner campaign for further comment.   Platner easily won his Senate primary in Maine despite the threat of a protest vote due to a slew of recent scandals. The race was called by the Associated Press at 9:23 pm ET Tuesday, with Platner hovering around 75 percent of the vote.  Around 18 percent of Democrats chose Governor Janet Mills, after she remained on the ballot despite suspending her campaign on April 30.      After Platner was hit with a wave of bad press, including accusations of misconduct by past romantic partners, Mills did not resume campaigning but reminded voters that she was 'still on the ballot.'  During his victory speech from his birthplace of Blue Hill, Platner alluded to the scandals by speaking of mistakes and redemption.  'Redemption is not just some simple or easy destination, it's a journey. I've made mistakes in my life. Mistakes that I regret, that I live with. That. I continue to learn from. I'm still far from perfect,' the Democratic nominee said.  'Everyday I wake up and try to get a little bit better, a little bit kinder than the day before,' he continued.  Platner is now the Democrat nominee after Governor Janet Mills dropped out of the race and will face Collins (pictured) in the general He wasn't kind to his general election opponent, Republican Senator Susan Collins. 'Susan Collins may have started her career decades ago in Washington with good intentions, but she has become just as spineless and corrupt as the establishment she now serves,' Platner said.  He blasted Collins for getting '21 times wealthier' since she first got elected to office.  'Susan Collins is getting rich while we're getting screwed,' the Democrat said.  Platner is a Marine and Army National Guard veteran who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.   'Susan Collins has never met a war she didn't like,' he told the crowd Tuesday night. 'She's been supporting endless wars since I was a teenager, and I know I had to fight in two of them.'  'Senator Collins, I got blown up while you handed out billions of dollars to defense companies that invested in you. Sorry, that you invested in,' he continued.  'You and your friends profited, my friends died,' Platner said.  Graham Platner (right) with his wife Amy Gertner (left) onstage at his election night event in Blue Hill, Maine. A sexting scandal almost derailed Platner's campaign Your browser does not support iframes. Democrats are hoping that Platner - an oyster farmer and veteran dubbed one of the 'rugged guys' in the 2026 midterms - can win back working-class voters. He's looking to upset Collins in November, as the GOP aims to hold its margin in the US, which currently sits at 53 seats. Last week, a poll fromUMass Lowell/YouGov had him at 48 percent to Collins' 43 percent. And other polls have him up over the incumbent Senator. Platner  - who was already under fire over a sexting scandal - left a trail of bad impressions with women he dated from both Washington, DC, and his home state of Maine, who spoke to the New York Times in an 11th-hour article released last week. One woman who spoke about his aggressive behavior in an explosive piece in the New York Times was Lyndsey Fifield, who described several instances of physical intimidation she experienced with Platner. Fifield, who worked for the conservative Heritage Foundation, said the two were in a 'two-year, on-again, off-again relationship.' Despite insisting that he 'never hit me, he never punched me,' Fifield said that Platner could become aggressive, particularly when alcohol was involved. She told The Times he would regularly grab her by the shoulders — sometimes leaving marks — and once pulled her from a taxi by her wrist during an argument. Fifield also recalled an incident in which he twisted her arm behind her back, pushed her into a bedroom, and held the door shut, telling her to stay there until she was 'calm.' Reflecting on the encounter, Fifield said, 'It hurt,' but also told the Times, 'It didn't cause an injury, it didn't break my arm.' Platner's campaign told the Daily Mail in a statement last week, 'Let's be very clear: This is a lifelong GOP operative who's dedicated her career to electing Republicans.' Another ex, Maine Democrat, Jenny Racicot, 41, described Platner's behavior to the Times as 'reckless' and 'unsettling.' 'When I saw the old comments that he made online,' she said, 'I recognized a version of him that I had experiences with.' A third woman, a Maine Democrat who asked not to be named, described the candidate as charismatic at times but also prone to heavy bouts of drinking. She said she felt like 'collateral damage to the world that is his.' In a statement shared with the Daily Mail by his campaign, Platner noted last week, 'Throughout this campaign, I've been open about what was a very dark period of my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, too often self-medicated with alcohol, and was a far from perfect boyfriend.' 'I take responsibility for all of that, and wish I had been better. Any characterization beyond that is false, and I believe, politically motivated. I'm not proud of who I was then, but I am proud of the work I've done since, and the movement we are building in Maine,' he added. Platner has faced numerous scandals since last fall, including the revelation of a Nazi tattoo that he has since covered up. Fifield also told the Times that Platner knew what the tattoo meant and called it 'my Totenkopf.' Fifield explained to the Times that Platner clearly stated his unit saw themselves as killing machines and drew a parallel with the Nazi Schutzstaffel, or S.S. 'They literally, deliberately, selected it because it was relevant to their military unit,' she said. Controversial Reddit posts also emerged during the course of the campaign, which Platner himself has described as including 'homophobic slurs, anti-LGBTQ+ jokes and sexually explicit stories denigrating gay men' to the Advocate last year. Another recent controversy stemmed from revelations that Platner texted other women sexually while married, and the discovery of a shirtless profile on Kik. Platner has not denied the texts or the profile, describing the stories as 'gossip' and he and his wife have reaffirmed 'a very happy marriage.' The Daily Mail also exclusively reported last week that one of Platner's top advisers, Daniel Moraff, once authored a 'humorous' essay that included sexual fantasies with Martin Luther King Jr and Eleanor Roosevelt. Vermont's Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts' Elizabeth Warren are still backing Platner, and House Democrat Ro Khanna spoke at a rally for Platner last weekend. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also told reporters on Tuesday that he met with Platner, adding, 'we're going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.' Collins, the only Republican in the race, holds an independent streak that makes her both loved and feared. She is also a Republican representing a state that was carried by Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in 2024. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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