Graham Platner’s homophobic posts and Nazi tattoo are his newest negatives

Ongoing revelations threaten to derail the Democratic hopeful’s campaign, but hard data are lacking.

Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is facing backlash over newly uncovered homophobic Reddit posts and a Nazi tattoo.

Earlier this week, I outlined the challenges already affecting Platner’s candidacy, from offensive online posts to turmoil within his campaign, as well as some real positives, particularly his emphasis on organizing and movement building.

Since then two new controversies have emerged.

The Homophobic Reddit Posts

On Wednesday, The Advocate published an interview in which Platner once again apologized, this time for a series of homophobic remarks he made on Reddit, some as recently as 2021.

According to the publication, which obtained the posts independently, Platner’s online history showed a pattern of slurs and jokes mocking LGBTQ+ people.

In some instances, he used homophobic language casually. In others, he made gay people the punch line.

Platner told The Advocate he has “changed as a person” and now recognizes how wrong his words were.

The Nazi Tattoo Controversy

Shortly before, Platner’s campaign faced a separate uproar — over a Totenkopf tattoo, the skull-and-crossbones emblem used by the Nazi SS.

In an attempt at damage control, the campaign itself leaked a video showing Platner’s bare chest to a podcaster, revealing the tattoo. In the video, Platner said he got the ink 19 years ago, unaware of its meaning, and claimed he only recently learned of its Nazi symbolism.

Screenshot from video Platner released on the left, with an image of a Totenkopf on the bottom right.

But his former political director, Genevieve McDonald, a former lobster boat captain and Maine legislator, disputed that explanation. McDonald said the campaign knew the tattoo was problematic weeks ago and noted that Platner, a self-professed military history buff, would almost certainly have known its significance.

Platner’s Washington-based consultants dismissed McDonald as a “disgruntled former employee.” Yet it’s worth recalling that McDonald resigned after learning about the earlier Reddit posts, which she said were kept from her until months into the campaign.

A Mismanaged Campaign

These twin controversies (and earlier ones) have exposed deeper flaws in Platner’s operation.

His campaign is largely managed by consultants from outside Maine, including veterans of the campaigns of Bernie Sanders, Zohran Mamdani, and John Fetterman. They seem to have overlooked a lot about Maine’s politics and political culture.

Their early strategy leaned heavily on state and national progressive momentum. The result has been a generic campaign full of class-oriented boilerplate.

Worse, they apparently failed to vet their own candidate and didn’t identify things in Platner’s record that could turn off potential coalition members.

This made them and Graham Platner ill-prepared for the scrutiny that accompanies a major Senate race.

Platner is charismatic and rose to prominence quickly, without building a governing record or developing a reputation. Now the stream of damaging revelations has been relentless.

Maine Voters React

It would be best to have reliable polling to gauge the impact of these revelations.

There is a recently released Pine Tree State Poll which was conducted starting the day after the first story about Platner’s Reddit posts and ending on October 21, the day the news emerged about his Nazi tattoo.

That poll showed a strong lead for Platner over Mills, 58-24%. Both had positive favorables among likely Democratic primary voters, although Mills was seen a bit more positively (65%) than Platner (60%). Mills also had higher unfavorables (16%) than Platner (8%) in this pool of respondents.

But we don’t have any polling since the news hit regarding Platner’s tattoo and homophobic posts and we won’t for awhile. News takes time to travel and sink it.

On the other hand, it may be that, in these times, those recent and upcoming revelations won’t matter much. Again, we don’t know.

As a public opinion scholar observing discourse on social media and among people I know, I’m well aware that what I’m observing since the most recent news broke is anecdotal and very well may not be representative.

That said, here’s what I’m seeing:

• Supporters leaving: Some early backers and donors have withdrawn support, with some asking for refunds.

• Loyalists remaining: These supporters contend that Platner’s apologies about his past shows accountability and growth and they strongly support his messages and campaign approach.

• Undecideds turning away: Voters who were once on the fence now oppose him or remain undecided.

• No new supporters: I’ve seen no evidence of anyone newly backing Platner since the controversies surfaced.

Supporters emphasize redemption. Critics note that Platner often blames the media or the establishment rather than fully accepting responsibility.

Fundraising and Other Fallout

Platner’s campaign once touted impressive fundraising numbers. Some of it came from Mainers and some from away. It’s striking that the campaign hasn’t released updated fundraising figures, a noticeable shift from earlier transparency. Again, given we don’t have recent enough data, it’s hard to know if that’s meaningful.

News is continuing to spread about the revelations.

While Sen. Bernie Sanders continues to stand by Platner, other progressive figures have grown cautious. Some leftist commentators remain supportive, but many national analysts who once cheered Platner’s insurgent style are now questioning his viability.

Supporters still frame Platner as a vehicle for working-class politics, but his rhetorical record complicates that claim.

Let’s keep in mind that Maine is a very white, rural state with the oldest population in the country.

Thus there could be political blowback from these remarks:

In 2020, Platner on Reddit responded to another user who claimed that “White people aren’t as racist or stupid as Trump thinks.”

“Living in white rural America, I’m afraid to tell you they actually are,” the future Senate candidate wrote back.

While Platner hoped to attract rural and working class voters to beat Susan Collins, there’s no doubt that such statements would feature prominently in communications by the Collins campaign if he’s the nominee.

What Comes Next for Graham Platner

Platner’s campaign demonstrated bold progressive energy and grassroots organizing. His work on movement building and organizing was and is exciting.

But momentum can evaporate quickly and the primary election isn’t for many months.

We truly do not have good, reliable data on how voters are responding, whether among primary voters or among the Mainers who will decide who wins the Maine Senate seat next year.

What I’ve seen anecdotally may not represent what’s happening. Stay tuned.

Readers, I’m interested in what you’re seeing. I hope you will share your observations in the comments.