Purple Senate battleground state of Maine

The campaign of Democrat Graham Platner, the oyster farmer and Marine veteran challenging Republican U.S. Senator Susan Collins in Maine, suffered more disturbing accusations over the past couple of weeks. One former Platner girlfriend alleged that during their 2013–2015 relationship, Platner engaged in physically aggressive behavior, including twisting her arm and preventing her from leaving the room during arguments. Another former girlfriend described Platner’s behavior in their relationship as “reckless,” while three women interviewed by The New York Times characterized him as physically intimidating or emotionally abusive.

Separately, reports published in the past month described sexually explicit messages Platner allegedly exchanged with multiple women while married. Platner acknowledged sending such messages, stating that he and his wife addressed the issue privately.

These are the latest in a series of troubling stories about Platner, which include a pattern of derogatory statements and/or actions that are offensive to multiple groups, as well as positions outside of the Democratic Party mainstream. For example: