Platner tests Democrats' tolerance for scandal
By: Mike Zapler (AXIOS)
If it's good enough for the 'God & country' Republican Party then it's obviously good for everyone else. The sliding scale of sleaze has now become a test of party loyalty.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
June 1, 2026 -- Donald Trump shattered long-held political norms when Republicans elected him twice despite scandals that would have sunk most candidates. Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is testing whether Democrats are willing to play by the same rules.
Why it matters: The answer will show whether voters' tolerance for scandal — long thought to be a Trump-only phenomenon — is hardening into a broader feature of American politics.
Driving the news: Platner suffered the latest in a string of setbacks when the Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported he exchanged sexually explicit texts with at least a half-dozen women while married.
- His wife discovered the messages and reported them to the campaign during its vetting process.
- Platner's camp dug in after the texting story broke. In a video released Saturday, Platner's wife, Amy Gertner, called it "really shameful" that outlets would focus on it instead of covering the issues Platner is running on.
- Strategist Morris Katz — also a close adviser to NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani — dismissed the reporting as a privacy violation by "opportunistic operatives."
Zoom in: Platner has been dogged by one controversy after another — from old Reddit posts downplaying rape and insulting Black people to a tattoo of a Nazi symbol he had inked on his chest in 2007 and only covered up last year after becoming a candidate.
- The oyster farmer and military veteran apologized for his writings, calling them crude and indefensible, and said he hadn't known the tattoo was a widely recognized Nazi symbol.
But his campaign has only been gathering steam. His Democratic primary opponent, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, dropped out in late April after polls showed her losing badly.
- A late May survey by the University of New Hampshire had Platner up 9 points against Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a general election matchup.
- Already the favorite of progressives, Platner has seen much of the Democratic establishment fall in line, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who was previously all-in for Mills.
Friction point: Some Democrats say the party shouldn't adopt the GOP's tolerance for scandal.
- "I find that tattoo and his commentary about it to be personally disqualifying," Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) said on CNN last week. "It would be a mistake for the Democratic Party to think that Graham Platner's brand … is what wins us durable majorities throughout this country."
- Asked about the sexting reporting on Sunday, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) told ABC News, "Yeah, I have concerns. That guy has questions to answer and that's what campaigns are for."
For many others, including progressives, winning can trump moral reservations when control of the Senate is at stake.
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's former chief of staff, congressional candidate Saikat Chakrabarti , accused Auchincloss of "essentially endorsing Susan Collins. … Absolutely no excuse for a Democrat in the House to back a Republican for Senate in a crucial swing seat."
- "[M]aybe Maine Democrats have absorbed the same lesson Republicans adopted in 2016: Once voters stop treating scandal as disqualifying, policing your own side for off-the-field behavior starts to look like unilateral disarmament," center-right columnist Matt Lewis wrote last week.
Reality check: Trump and Platner's conduct is different in type and scale. The stakes of a Senate race are not the same as a presidential election. One has expressed contrition, while the other prides himself on refusing to apologize.
The bottom line: Maine is a must-win seat for Democrats. The race will come down to whether enough Democrats and independents are willing to hold their noses for Platner like skeptical Republicans did for Trump.
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Trump Republicans actually believe they can win on this playing field? Donald Trump has set the bar at the bottom of the barrel for what is acceptable.
The choice in this Maine race is clear. Any TDS ridden individual that “holds their nose” and votes for Platner, simply demonstrates the hypocrisy at play in that mindset. Thus demonstrating the deluded component of TDS.
Amazing!
And any MAGA that expects the democrats to react differently than the republicans to this type of scandal exemplify hypocrisy.
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So you would be perfectly fine if Platner gets elected? No issues with his past?
I’ve no issues with who he running against.
One of the most moderate Senators in the Senate. She represents her constituents well. This guy is all personal issues. He could give a shit for any of his constituents that don’t goose step to the narratives he’s pushing.
Which are mostly radical anywhere in the US but here on NT.
Good to see that you are now against supporting corrupt individuals with no moral compass. That you now hold that character matters — especially at high positions such as Senator and, thus, President.
So surely you will not support someone who would do things like:
Still Groundhog Day here I see.
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Your post exemplifies Groundhog Day: you cannot deal with the facts, so you spew your cliché personal bullshit while running away from the debate.
eventually maga will become irrelevant, but those who speak out against trump will have a nice little place in US history
I care what you think
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Make an argument, Sparty. Do something other than troll this site.
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and TDS will be recognized in the DSM with first symptom as "progressive".
TDS is a perfect name to describe what causes people to still support Trump.
Trump Denial Syndrome
People who deny Trump has done anything bad in his life.
See apologist .
Hilarious when many on the left recognize themselves with an acronym and try to change the meaning.
TDS is and always will be classified as a left wing mental disease.
Should we be surprised if Donald Trump backs Graham Platner to spite Susan Collins?
Trump does seem to fancy corrupt individuals. Paxton being the most recent illustration of this.
It will be interesting to see. I doubt Platner will make it that far. Democrats and the DNC will give him the Biden broom and insert a Kamala like chosen one.
That’s my prediction
If the Ds do manage to push out another morally corrupt individual, that would be good for them.
Now, if only the GOPTRUMP could find a spine and deal with Trump, this nation and the planet would be much better off.
Did Graham Platner associate with Jeffrey Epstein? That seems to be a litmus test that the Democratic and Republican establishment choose to ignore.
Trump admires those who know when to grab 'em and when to dump 'em.
I fully expect him to do a Fetterman and turn into a MAGAT if he's elected
I don't know much about Platner, but Fetterman has never been a Progressive. He's a left-wing populist. I would expect something similar with Platner, but I doubt he'll get elected over Collins. I'd vote Collins over Platner without this new sexting info.
with his history, I'm surprised he doesn't attract a lot more maga support ...
Yep, only Dems still supporting him …. there’s your sign.
I am not surprised he is picking up so much dem support.
Yep. That's what would cause Democrats to oppose him.
Not the Nazism.
Not wishing death on American soliders.
Not training domestic terrorists.
Not the lying, cheating on his wife or hanging out on predator apps. .
Not being a failure despite being born into the elite.
Not pushing antisemitic conspiracy theories...
The only crime they care about is he might exercise some independence and not be a complete sheep for the party. That would make Democrats turn on him.
Just another vote for party over country election. Obviously Independents will find a much easier time letting go. Holding your nose while voting seem to becoming the norm more and more. Of course talking shit about the other side while doing it yourself is pretty popular too.
What allows such shitty candidates like Platner and Paxton (and of course the pinnacle example Trump) to emerge as the final choices?
Why is the corrupt shit rising to the top?
Greed on the part of hyper-partisans and apathy on the part of everyone else.
But the Ds could have rallied behind someone else. Same with Paxton. Same with Trump. Why does the electorate lack even the most basic filter?
Apathy and ignorance has been my answer for decades. But still, WTF? How can so many be so out of touch?
Without going into a political science dissertation on the ills of our two party system, and the way people are consuming their information, but I think it comes down to how voters feel they are getting shafted by establishment politicians and these populists prey on that with simple messages like kitchen table economics.
The fact that politicians can influence so many voters with propaganda is an argument supporting 'apathy and ignorance'.
Unfortunately, the problem may be that basic. If so, the solution is not obvious.
After all, we have been watching Trump engage in outrageous behavior and his supporters continue to buy his bullshit. Facts and reason clearly do not work on these people.
Agree for the most part but it seems recently good choices are deciding it is not worth it to get into politics. It isn't worth the trouble to those that would be the best at service to their country.
It is.
I don't really think it's that basic. I think we have a series of systemic problems decades in the making that are quite complex. The result though is the same... we won't find an simple or obvious solution.
Not in the age of alternative facts and information bubbles,
In this hyper-partisan age, getting into politics can destroy one's life.
I think it would be worth a separate discussion at some other time though.
I guess the country is running low on citizens with pristine backgrounds. This is what happens when you develop a means to publicly document any thought any person with a smartphone or computer deems important enough to share with the world. I couldn’t care less that Platner was inappropriate. The fact is that anyone who is interesting on a level at all has done things that others might deem inappropriate. Are people really holding out for a Mister Rogers to run for office? How about just looking at what their platform is about and disregard that someone mooned a group of nuns from a bus window when they were 15.
I'm probably leaning back towards supporting him for that stunt ...
... it is pretty entertaining to watch maga pass character judgement on democrats, while ignoring the infinite flaws of their maga savior.
His wife was offended that his sexting came to light. She wants to be Mrs. Senator as badly as Jill Biden wanted a tony address, irrespective of so much bad stage lighting.
Not the way I understand it. She brought it to the campaigns attention so they were aware of it and could try to get ahead of it. I guess the vetting for this guy went something like this; Dem … check, crazy progressive …. Check, served in the military …. Check, hates Trump …. Check.
We have our man.
This guy is a hot mess. How they missed that speaks to the failure of their vetting process. No one expects perfection but this guy? Damn!
I’m curious if people who are outraged that Platner would sext women that are not his wife would be equally outraged if he instead had an AI sexting account. It’s pretty much the same thing if it doesn’t lead to actual cheating. Will that be the next puritan litmus test imposed on democrats by the right? Will we be seeing attacks in the future on candidates who talk dirty to bots?