Maine Senate Candidate Graham Platner Faces Allegations of Past Sexting Messages

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said he has concerns about Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner after reports emerged that Platner sent sexting messages to multiple women. Booker spoke on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday, May 31, 2026.

“Yeah, I have concerns. The guy has questions to answer, and that’s what campaigns are for,” Booker said when asked whether the controversy could affect Democratic chances of winning Maine’s Senate seat. ” Maine’s Senate seat is currently held by incumbent Sen.

Susan Collins, a Republican. The seat is viewed as a must-win for Democrats seeking to retake the chamber. The reports surfaced on Saturday. They stated that Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, had informed his campaign about the messages, which he sent in recent years.

Platner married in 2023. The messages were sent via an account on Kik, an encrypted messaging service, and the account remains active. Reports indicate Platner messaged up to a dozen women, though the exact number remains disputed.

Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” the same day. “Right now, this information is out there,” Kim said. “With any campaign in the country, the character and the transparency about the different candidates is going to come out.

That’s part of the campaign. ” Sen. ” Platner is a former Marine and oyster farmer. Last year, reports revealed he had a tattoo resembling a Totenkopf, or “death’s head,” symbol used by the Nazi SS. Platner said he received the tattoo in Croatia while inebriated in 2007 and later covered it with a Celtic knot design that includes imagery around dogs.

Additional reports detailed posts from a since-scrubbed Reddit account. In one post, Platner defended soldiers urinating on dead Taliban soldiers. In another, he wrote that white Americans “actually are” racist and stupid.

Earlier this month, older posts surfaced in which Platner mocked a Purple Heart recipient, writing, “This video never gets old. Dumb mother—er didn’t deserve to live. ” Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, posted a video addressing the recent controversy.

She criticized media coverage and the campaign’s former political director. 8 percentage point lead over Collins. In 2020, Collins outperformed the RealClearPolitics average in her race against Democrat Sara Gideon.