He had revealed himself way before the election.

nope - some of us saw reality

not all of us

I cannot stand BS

Platner came in attacking """"the Democratic Establishment""" and his initial support was buoyed by those fighting that same (ridiculous) fight.

But, I don’t give a shit about their personal life. We have a rapist as president, and a senator in Maine that supports rapists.

He's running for Senate, not sainthood.

because they make money on doing what I end up having to do anyway.

In this case, apparently the wife is reporting proactively that text might be a problem in the future tense. And that they attended counseling and that their "marriage is stronger than ever".

Like, if I were prone to a certain sort of conspiratorial thinking (wink wink), I'd say there are no texts at all and he is a articulating perhaps the best media-driven narrative possible.

I'm partially joking. It sucks if he cheated on his wife. But I don't really care because neither his wife nor he are my friend. He is indicating he will take a hatchet to billionaires. I'd like that.

And it shows poor judgment on his part. That many different women and he didn’t think it would come out? As a candidate, his decision affect us. He was 7 points up on Collins before this news broke. I now expect the worst.

"Watch what they do, not what they say."

Everyone liked what Fetterman was once saying as well, but nowadays the only people liking what he is doing (and now, only now, also saying) are those on the rightwing.

Or, alternative, these purity tests again?

If wanting someone that we can trust to uphold and further pursue Democratic values is a purity test, it's one that we all should be administering to every candidate wanting our nomination.

He's got experience and no Nazi tats.

Platner's wasted more than enough time sucking the oxygen out of the Democratic party.

And unless his messages were with underage women or vulnerable women he was using some influence of power with — this is going to smack of desperation looking for a story.

Anyone on this thread giving this oxygen is supporting Susan Collins.

Truth be told he is a poor candidate who continues to damage the party.

After the primary, the choice is binary.

Why couldn't Governor Mills find this oppo with the full force of Schumer and Gillibrand?


The reason is because this is oppo from the Collins campaign and we, as Democrats should know better.


If he has sex tapes, I hope he and has wife enjoy them. I care not the least little bit about his personal life because he is saying the right mouth words and his opponent, Susan Collins, can't even form a sentence.

It is concerning that I am this concerned by this post.

I apologize for 3 direct replies to the same post.

And WSJ!

Including the “family values” voters.

They let an adjudicated rapist off the hook, but mark my words, they will make this an issue to help Collins. The Nazi tattoo doesn't help either.

At the same, they will gloss over Ken Paxton's infidelity.

But we shouldn't care, either. Politicians are vehicles for policy and we shouldn't look to them for moral clarity. They are as a consequence of power, history, and law by nature compromised. As such, all our candidates are at best complex and at worst compromised.

Where it matter is the words they say and the deliverables they achieve. In this contest, it is between Graham Platner who is saying some seriously solid mouth words, and Susan Collins who is made of jello.

As a matter of political tactics, I think it is fascinating that his sex life is coming up, considering his opponent who I believed is the uncontested sexiest member of Congress.

Out. He ended up giving ammunition to his enemy. And we will end up being the worst for it…losing a seat in the Senate.

Maybe Maine voters what a candidate that has had sex in the last 30 years.

the Republicans said the same thing: they didn't care that he was sleazy and had done and said all kinds of horrible things. They wanted him because he was a Republican. Are the Democrats going to sink to that level and not care what kind of sleazy things Platner has done all because he's a Democrat?

it seems there's some Democrats here who don't care much either.

and I certainly hope we do!

My point isn't that Planter should end his campaign. As some others have noted, this couple has apparently worked it out, and it is something that's essentially between them.

Having said that, I just get a bit tired of people acting like cheating on a spouse "means nothing" in terms of character or eligibility, especially in the case of a candidate whose past has already come under some scrutiny.

That's all folks.

Yes, he won the primary by a wide margin.

But a lot of (R) consider him scum and either voted Cornyn or just sat out the run-off.

That is, some (R) care.

She doesn't want the job.

The Nazi tattoo, his use of the word ret*rd, and this charming comment:

"...people concerned about rape should 'take some responsibility for themselves and not get so f—-ked up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to.'”

wasn't enough to sink this guy? And it's Janet Mills' fault??

He's running and winning and she suspended her campaign when polls showed her 30-40% behind.

Mills' (Old! AIPAC!), Corporate Dems (corrupt campaign contributions! AIPAC!), diabolical centrist establishment rigging cabal establishment, Bigfoot (AIPAC!) ... no purity tests allowed (that's for the enemy, the Democratic Party).

Holding feet to the fire, earn my vote, lesser of two evils, vote my conscience -- we won't be seeing these kinds of moral outcries.

AIPAC = more war

Fuck AIPAC and those who support it.

Another one of his statements

Thanks for reminding me, even though it makes me sick.

I trust Maine Democrats have a reason.

Fuck her and her faux concerns!!

(Raw Story) "Platner's wife, Amy Gertner, told his Senate campaign about the texts with several different women, insider sources told the WSJ. Gertner discovered the texts in spring 2025, and in August, she told an aide whom she considered a friend, while the campaign was doing opposition research on Platner, the WSJ reported."

his wife considered a "friend" has a closet full of MAGAt hats.

thread. Who leaked this information?

It was Platner's wife telling it to an Oppo research aide. So how did it get out there to the NYT?

Throw out a competent, successful woman governor for a younger white male with at least half a dozen red flags blazing, and shockingly, there's more! Who could've guessed that!

I'm calling it now.

We'll either make gains or we'll learn who to run (or not) in 2028.

He’s the official nominee, so we need to make sure he wins in one of this nation’s most important elections. I see certain Democrats can be bashed here though while others cannot. I saw a Dem “strategist” go right on to Fox News and claim it would be fine for Susan Collins to win.

She should tell that to women all over the country who lost the rights to their own bodies. That is directly due to Susan Collins and Dump. It always amazes me that democrats will tear each other apart first, even when we have actual Nazis running the country.

...it would be his duty to the party to step aside and endorse a write-in for Mills, imo. I don't know if we're there yet. That would be a desperation move. I'm waiting for our elected leaders to weigh in, frankly.

I would fully agree. We need that seat. So far, he seems to be ahead of Collins.

Name please, I do not watch Fox news.

Don't pretend otherwise.

Don't equivocate.

THIS is the race that will be the harbinger of the night. So those among us that pearl clutch at his orgasmic practices are only helping Susan Collins and therefore control of the Senate.

Purity tests my somewhat-digusted-but-resigned-for-and-yet-enthustiatic-support of Graham Platner ass.

If we come down to 51-50, what do people think Fetterman is likely to do?

Dan Osborne isn't winning in Nebraska.

There's no rule that Dems can't react real time to reality.

He is ahead by 9 points.

Susan Collins looks like an undead muppet.

It seems to me that you are suggesting the Democratic party use the above information to seize defeat from the jaws of victory.


Graham Platner is beating Susan Collins. He is saying the correct mouth words. He is running a campaign strong enough to outperform national Democrats in a season when Democrats are already outperforming.

He is running a campaign so good that Susan Collins had to acknowledge her fucking tremor.

What are you talking about!?

He could have voted to end abortion rights for millions of Americans and protected a belligerent president for years while helping forfeit the role of congress from oversight roles entirely.

Platner is our nominee for better or worse. We need every seat we can get.

But Platner is far closer to it than Collins will ever be.

I still hate his past comments about rape victims though

And his use of the R word.

Yet none of that together remotely comes close to how bad Collins is because... thats just where we are as a country

late to find an ideal candidate.

I wasn’t his biggest fan, but right now the only thing that matters is beating Collins.

There were issues with both candidates in my opinion. Going with Mills would have posed its own problems. She was a great candidate on paper, but I think there should have been alternatives to Platner, who was barely vetted, and Mills who is close to 80 years old. There’s also a lot of anti establishment vibes, and rightly or wrongly Mills is viewed as the establishment pick, especially since she was Schumer’s chosen candidate.

Lesser of two evils.

When he starts promoting cutting food and health aid for children worldwide,

kicking millions off of snap and Medicaid,

killing Black jobs and silencing minority representation via gerrymandering and voter suppression,

locking women and children up in concentration camps under some bullshit 'worst of the worst' LIE,

tanking the economy, killing off environmental and consumer protections,

sabotaging the function of government via the installation of A PUPPET AUTOCRACY,

ending birthright citizenship,

'taking over elections,

partnering with authoritarian dictators to engage in war (i.e. LAND GRABS),

WHILE pocketing BILLIONS of profit on the taxpayer's dime,

(and that's not nearly the HALF of it)...

then CALL me.

I’m a Mainer and beating Susan Collins is all that matters. Platner is a multi tour veteran who came home and posted crap. So what? Collins supports Trump almost all the time. You choose.

Time to support ALL Democratic nominees. I as an Illinoisan , preferred Mills but as an out of stater I had no say. Mainers have made their choice. Platner now needs our support. Hold your nose if you have to. We need every seat we can get.

She didn't want to run for this seat, and was happy to drop out. Schumer basically guilted her into doing it, which was a huge mistake. She barely ran a campaign at all.

Platner's online philandering would pale in comparison to Paxton's sleaze, and Talarico's christian beliefs would make Collins look downright immoral.

I'm sorry, it is a bad and unfunny joke but it immediately popped into my head and I just felt compelled to pitch it.

So I don’t worry about Senator Fetterman or a possible future Senator Platner.

I do not have big money resources but I do volunteer my time and my voice to persuade others to vote for Ossoff and candidates who share my values

I figure Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders can continue working for Platner and persuading Maine voters.

I remember him debating the empty podium, and doing it in a compelling way.

He is another eventual President.

He is in the fight of his life to get re-elected, and he is spending every waking minute on that. We keep in regular touch. He is one of my favorite Senators, and, even though I only know a few them, is, I am convinced, the sharpest intellect of that body.

GA has two firebrand Senators.

Ossoff will have his time to run. I'm not in any rush

There are two Senate races the Republicans will pour a hundred million each into, and cheat if it’s at all close, and they are Texas and Georgia. Texas because as much as they hate Paxton, they can’t afford to lose the seat, and Georgia because they desperately want those Senate seats back. Jon, more so than Warnock, is their worst nightmare for a southern state: young, attractive, personable, incredibly intelligent, and a “libbrul” Democrat. Neither side has any illusions about their chances. It’ll be a slugfest. Never mind that Jon has done an admirable job. Cornyn did an admirable job, too (from a Republican point of view), but they still chopped him at the knees.

Our one not-so-secret ace up our sleeve is that the Georgia Republicans haven’t yet come with a charismatic opponent yet, and the clock is ticking. Whoever it is will rely on an updated version of their 1950s tactic of seeing who could yell the “n” word loudest. When that fell out of style, the word turned into “kommanist.” These days, they yell “libbrul” instead, but it’s just a new version of their old strategy. They’ll have to suppress their instincts to yell “Jew!” because a modest number of Jews have moved to Georgia from other parts of the country. Not huge, but they vote, While Jon can’t count on their votes automatically, if the Republicans start in with racial slurs, they will certainly push Georgia’s undecided Jews in Jon’s direction in a race where every vote will count.

We shouldn’t accept the claim that Platner was “sexting” anyone without seeing the texts. He’s controversial, there are a lot of attempts to sink him, and it’s perfectly possible the texts were just innocent discussions of securing the existence of our people and a future for white children.

— Frankly Very Boring Popehat (@kenwhite.bsky.social) 2026-05-30T22:17:19.507Z

I am not alerting this post because I don't know if you posted this in error or not.

It's making fun of his most vocal defenders, white guys, who will say or do anything to defend him.

Like this one

Platner could’ve sexted my mom and I’d still vote for him

— Secular Talk (@kylekulinskishow.bsky.social) 2026-05-30T20:57:38.424Z

My mom does need to get out more.

like the 60 minutes where he spoke of causing pain in his marriage. I have not read enough to know what he said or did, but was it worse than Clinton and Flowers and Jones?

In some ways, there could be similarities. Like Hillary, his wife is standing behind him. Also they apparently worked to keep their marriage together. Also, the Republican is a generation older person who at that point was uninspiring.

Like others, I wish he would have been eliminated by all the things that already came out. However, the fact that he over that time became more popular, suggests he might in some ways be like Clinton. Clinton was able to make people forgive him.

The primary is June 9th, which seems to late to switch to anyone else. Mills might be the only option and it is not clear she could win the primary.

Donald Trump is President.

Jeffrey Epstein is on the ballot.

As Platner seems to be charismatic and Maimers did not hold all the other stuff against him, I was suggesting that as he will likely be our candidate, that the Clinton example could work.

Not to mention, if Trump becomes sufficiently unpopular in Maine, it is possible ANY Democrat will win as they vote to try to keep Trump accountable.

there is a lot of very interesting things to unpack, and I'd love to hear more.

Do you remember that Hillary and Bill Clinton went on 60 minutes because revelations of his relation with Gennifer Flowers were threatening his rise in the primaries. Hillary was incredible pointing out she was not just standing by her man.

I don't know how to compare the flaws or the good qualities of the two men. It is also true that culture of 1992 is not the culture of 2026. Not to mention that knowing nothing of his wife, Hillary was exceptional and likely pulled him out of this trouble.

I was in 4th grade, so my political awareness was not very nuanced.

It did start my lifelong desire to see Sec. Clinton become President.

My oldest was a couple of years younger and was very proud that she pulled the lever when we went to vote.

My dad liked vacillated between Brown and Clinton but was a truly rapid Clinton lover. Particularly of his intelligence and rhetorical ability.

Bill Clinton is another very interest contrast with Barack Obama, who was equally intelligent and rhetorically masterful, but applied this differently.

I was concerned about environmental issues as his Arkansas record was not good. I was impressed by both Clintons' intelligence.

I was blown away by Obama.

But we didn't set it.

no INDEED

we need to do BETTER

Even if I wasn't a big fan I would still support the nominee even after my preferred candidate lost the primary.

As far as Platner he is great on policy but there are red flags in his background. I believe he has made mistakes he apologized for which is something that Trump would never do.

Long-shot Senate hopeful tells Maine Democrats Graham Platner isn’t their only option

But David Costello, a 65-year-old Brunswick Democrat who has experience in federal, state and local government, continues to make the case to voters ahead of the June 9 primary that he’s the best one to take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the fall.

https://www.pressherald.com/2026/05/21/longshot-senate-hopeful-tells-maine-democrats-graham-platner-isnt-their-only-option/

Fom the NYT article:

I thought those only worked one way.

(As a ludicrous rhetorical construction used to discredit people questioning the orthodoxy when the orthodoxy fulfill 2 conditions: being wrong AND losing elections)

Purity being derived from puritanical. As in a rigid insistence on moral purity.

Of course the Original Purity Test has stood the test of time and is not likely to be supplanted or replaced - not for a while at least. It's still so useful!

we can kill whoever we want overseas!

Staying silent on the killing of babies and schoolkids and starving their remaining relatives is perfectly fine - but SEXTING is a bridge too far!

And however flawed he may be, the greater the well-deserved humiliation for Susan Collins.

Maybe no more kneeling on glass for Democrats. Hopefully.

In fact I think there's a chance this may backfire. Desparation looking for a story, as I think you aptly put it. Voters are smarter than we think.

"Puritanical" means to be like the Puritans, a religious sect that fled England because they couldn't "purify" the corrupt and immoral Church of England. So they settled in New England, and attempted to "purify" all of us, whether we wanted to be purified, or not.

Amy Gertner shared the texts with several members of the campaign staff.

Genevieve McDonald confirmed it to the NY Times as did another current Platner Campaign staffer.

They've got the attack ads ready to go as soon as the primary is over. Blaming the leaker is weak sauce. We all knew Platner had tons of red flags.