Platner’s Wife Informed Campaign Aide of Sexually Explicit Messages Found on His Account
Gertner told campaign aide Genevieve McDonald about sexually explicit texts on her husband’s Kik account days after he launched his Senate bid. The account, registered under phustle0331 since 2016, showed a shirtless mirror selfie.
freepressjournal.inGertner discovered sexually explicit messages on her husband Graham Platner’s account in the spring of 2025 and informed campaign aide Genevieve McDonald about them in late August 2025, only days after Platner launched his Democratic Senate bid in Maine.
McDonald, the campaign’s former political director, confirmed to CNN that Gertner confided in her about the sexting. CNN verified a Kik account that appears to belong to Platner but stated it could not independently confirm the texts.
The Kik profile is registered under the handle phustle0331 and dates to 2016. It shows Platner shirtless in a mirror selfie, according to the Wall Street Journal. Platner’s campaign said he deleted the Kik app but never closed the account.
Gertner said she had shared “deeply personal details about my marriage” with someone she trusted. She stated she was “deeply hurt by her betrayal and the invasion of our privacy” in a statement to CBS News. ” Staffers conducted opposition research on their own candidate at the time but treated the messages as a private matter the couple was addressing, the Wall Street Journal reported.
A Labor Day rally featuring Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders proceeded without incident. Platner covered up a Nazi-linked tattoo and faced criticism over prior internet posts about public masturbation, CBS News reported.
His primary rival, Gov. Janet Mills, withdrew from the race in April.
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