Pennsylvania Senator Criticizes Maine Senate Candidate Over Texts and Tattoo

" The criticism focused on reports that the candidate exchanged explicit messages with women outside his marriage through the messaging app Kik. The senator also condemned a skull-and-crossbones tattoo the candidate received while serving in the Marines, which the candidate has said he later covered after learning its resemblance to a Nazi symbol.

The candidate met with several senators in Washington on June 2, including members from New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, and California, as well as an independent senator from Vermont. Two of those senators had previously endorsed the candidate before the messages were reported.

The candidate's wife posted a video addressing the reports, stating that the couple is in marriage counseling and that she finds media coverage of the messages shameful. She said no marriage is perfect. The candidate has previously faced criticism over the tattoo and older social media posts about sexual assault and race, which he has said he no longer supports.