Embattled Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner faces further problems after Republicans announced they were pouring $3 million into incumbent Sen. Susan Collins’s (R-ME) reelection campaign.
Republican-aligned PAC One Nation announced the new investment after a flurry of negative attention directed against Platner, as more scandals continue to pile up. It also launched a new ad campaign intended to cast light on Collins’s accomplishments, especially vis-à-vis investments in Maine and help for veterans.
“One Nation thanks Senator Collins for her steady leadership, dependable service, and strong character and encourages Mainers to call Senator Collins to urge her to continue delivering policy wins for the state,” One Nation Communications Director Chris Gustafson said in a statement.
Thursday brought other bad news for Platner: A June 1-3 poll from Fabrizio, Lee & Associates for Collins-aligned Pine Tree Results PAC found Platner’s public image had plummeted, with respondents expressing an unfavorable view of the candidate nearly doubling.
In January, 35% of those polled said they had a favorable view of Platner, a total that increased to 40% in June as the race heated up. As for those who reported an unfavorable view of Platner, that total was 29% in January, but skyrocketed to 49% in June.
“It is clear that the more voters learn about Platner the more they find they don’t like him, making the Senate race HIGHLY competitive. Senator Collins and her allies need to muster the resources to keep the pressure on Platner as the Democrat money machine tries
to salvage Platner’s candidacy,” the memo concluded.
PLATNER IS UNFIT FOR DUTY: THE MAINE DEMOCRAT WOULD BE BEYOND THE PALE IN ANY OTHER ERA
On Thursday, a piece from the New York Times detailed allegations of troubling behavior from the Senate hopeful against several ex-girlfriends. Platner has denied the accusations, but the repeated scandals have many Democratic strategists questioning his viability as a candidate.
“Democrats in Maine and throughout the country have got to decide what is their priority: Justifying Graham Platner’s behavior or winning the Democratic seat in Maine,” Robert Zimmerman, a New York-based Democratic National Committee member, told Politico. “It’s very clear that Platner has not been able to credibly justify his conduct and Democrats who defend him sound like Republicans defending Donald Trump after the Access Hollywood tape.”
Many of Platner’s other recent troubles have come from the exposure of his former Reddit account, showing a deluge of controversial posts ranging from mocking wounded U.S. soldiers to insulting holy figures of Christianity to questioning the Armenian Genocide. He’s also struggled to explain properly why he got a tattoo of the Totenkopf, the symbol of the SS guards of concentration camps.