Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner abruptly canceled his scheduled events in Washington, D.C., and New York City on Wednesday after reporters showed up at his family’s home and place of business in Maine, according to a NOTUS report confirmed by multiple outlets.
Journalists from the New York Post reportedly showed up at the home of Platner’s mother-in-law and the restaurant that his mother owns on Wednesday. This prompted Platner to cancel an event he had planned with the Democratic veterans group VoteVets on Wednesday and bypass the rest of his interstate trip, which included a stop in New York.
Platner had been visiting the district in large part to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on the heels of the latest scandal to hit his Senate campaign. Over the weekend, news broke that Platner had previously sent sexually explicit messages to other women while married to his wife, Amy Gertner. Gertner had told Platner’s then-political director about the texts last summer.
The scandal is the latest to rock the Platner campaign, which has been embroiled in controversies, including Reddit posts by Platner and his now-covered-up tattoo, which resembled Nazi imagery.
Platner met with multiple Senators this week, shoring up support for his candidacy against incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) amid the controversies.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had previously courted Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) to run for the Democratic nomination, backing the governor once she announced her bid. But when Mills dropped out of the race due to lackluster funding and poor polling against Platner, Schumer turned around and supported Platner, joining leftist caucus members including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
Yet on Tuesday, Schumer dodged elaborating on questions about his support for Platner after his closed-door meeting with the candidate.
“As I said, I endorsed Graham Platner,” Schumer said Tuesday. “We’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.”
Platner is most likely set to become the Democratic nominee to take on Collins, as he remains the only big-name candidate on the primary ballot and is far ahead in the primary polling.
GRAHAM PLATNER MAKES SENATE DEMOCRATS SQUIRM WITH BLITZ THROUGH DC
The latest late-May general election poll from the University of New Hampshire has Platner leading Collins by single digits.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to the New York Post for comment.