Embattled Democratic Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner admitted Thursday to sexting other women shortly after marrying his wife, but denied allegations he abused an ex-girlfriend – calling her claim “politically motivated.”
“At the beginning of our marriage, I made mistakes,” Platner said in his first major interview since the Wall Street Journal reported that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with as many as a dozen women since his 2023 marriage to Amy Gertner.
“It stopped when it was happening,” Platner said during his appearance on MS NOW’s “All in with Chris Hayes.”
The former oyster farmer and Marine veteran claimed he started sexting other women “soon after we got married,” noting he and his wife “dealt with it very, very early in our relationship, and so that’s when it stopped.”
Platner, who is running to unseat Maine’s longtime Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, found himself embroiled in yet another scandal ahead of the interview, after the New York Times detailed accounts from his ex-girlfriends, who recalled his alleged abusive behavior and a hatred of women.
His exes described Platner as someone who “hated women,” “does not respect women,” and would refer to them as “hatchet wounds.”
One woman, Lyndsey Fifield, alleged that Platner once twisted her during an argument and shoved her in a bedroom, refusing to let her out until she was “calm.”
Platner said Fifield’s allegation “did not” happen.
“Anything alleging physicality, anything alleging that I knew what my tattoo was – these are the statements of someone who’s politically motivated,” he told Hayes.
“Those serious allegations are just not true.”
When asked point-blank if Fifield – a Republican campaign worker from Virginia – was lying, Platner responded, “Yes. That is not true.”
Platner is expected to secure the Democratic nomination on June 9, having no serious opponent after Maine Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the race April 30.
He also holds a 7.4% edge over Collins in general election polling, according to a RealClearPolitics average of surveys.
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