Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is denying key details of a bombshell New York Times report alleging he abused his ex-girlfriend, spoke demeaningly about women, maintained a heavy drinking habit, and expressed disturbing views on violence, including fantasies about rape. The report also raises questions about his claim of ignorance regarding a Nazi tattoo, alleging he understood its meaning and referred to it as “my Totenkopf,” which he also denies.
In a lengthy interview on MSNBC, Platner acknowledged some of the reported behavior, saying his military service led him to a dark period in his life, but he denied the most serious allegations.
Graham Platner DENIES New York Times BOMBSHELL report alleging physical abuse of his ex-girlfriend.
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 5, 2026
PLATNER: "There are some allegations in this piece that I just want to be kind of unequivocal about are simply not true. Anything alleging, physicality, anything alleging that I… pic.twitter.com/5JEfYHbI66
When Hayes pressed him specifically on claims of physical abuse, here was Platner's response:
"Did it happen?" Hayes asked.
"No, it did not," Platner said. "There are some allegations in this piece that I just want to be kind of unequivocal about are simply not true. Anything alleging physicality, anything alleging that I knew what my tattoo was, these are the statements of someone who's politically motivated."
In this piece, there's a lot about my struggling, not being a good boyfriend, certainly self-medicating with alcohol, and I've been very upfront since the beginning of this campaign that that was a pretty dark period of my life after I came back from my combat service, and that's what that combat service, that's what that kind of life looks like, and and so there are things in this that I absolutely will take responsibility for and have been speaking about openly for months now, but those serious allegations are just not true.
He also denied allegations that he understood the meaning of his Nazi tattoo.
CHRIS HAYES: Did you know what this Nazi tattoo was about before last October when you said you first became aware of it?
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 5, 2026
GRAHAM PLATNER: No, I did not. pic.twitter.com/M5wH8TSdrx
And even with these allegations circulating and the growing discontent with Platner, he said that he doesn't regret running for the Maine Senate seat, nor has he even considered dropping out of the race.
CHRIS HAYES: Do you regret running?
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 5, 2026
GRAHAM PLATNER: No, not in the slightest. pic.twitter.com/QNukckqD5e
CHRIS HAYES: At any point over the course of the past week, have you considered dropping out of the race?
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 5, 2026
GRAHAM PLATNER: No, not once. pic.twitter.com/u5ExJYIfLB
This comes as Platner’s campaign faces a series of controversies, including allegations of public lewd conduct, activity on a website associated with child sexual exploitation, infidelity, sexting hundreds of women shortly after getting married, expressions of pro-Hamas and pro-communist views, and now the allegations detailed in the New York Times report.
GRAHAM PLATNER BOMBSHELL DETAILS
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 4, 2026
- Knew tattoo was a Nazi symbol — called it "my Totenkopf"
- Unit picked SS death's-head on purpose: "they were killers"
- Joked about it being a Nazi tattoo while dating
- 3 exes: "toxic," demeaning, heavy drinking, cheating
- NYT story delayed… pic.twitter.com/hYAbb3HJE6
And yet Democrats have continued to rally around Platner despite the presence of another viable candidate, Governor Janet Mills, who unofficially withdrew from the race.
The state’s Democratic primary is scheduled for Tuesday, June 9.
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