Why doesn’t Graham Platner drop out? Well, for starters, he’s the frontrunner—for now. He’s in a solid position in the Maine Democratic Senate primary, with one poll having him clinching nearly 60 percent of the vote. Now, former Gov. Janet Mills has entered the race, so let’s see what happens. Still, Platner’s political career has been rocked by a Nazi tattoo fiasco, followed by his remarks denigrating rural Mainers, and finally the unearthing of homophobic posts on Reddit. This is a mess, but for Democrats, it’s downright disqualifying—a man with Nazi tattoos bashing gays, this guy’s toast.
Platner apologized for the posts, his remarks about rural Maine voters, and got his Nazi tattoo fixed. Then, he tried to get his top staffers to sign NDAs. Despite his solid standing in the polls, Platner’s still bleeding staff. His campaign manager is calling it quits (via Axios):
Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner's campaign manager is stepping down from his position after only days on the job, according to two people familiar with his plans.
Why it matters: It's the latest in a series of personnel shakeups for Platner's campaign, which was endorsed by progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT.) but has been thrown into turmoil because Platner made controversial social media posts in the past and had a tattoo that looked like a Nazi symbol.
Zoom in: Kevin Brown, a longtime friend of Platner's who started as campaign manager last week, is leaving his role, the sources said.
Platner's former political director, Genevieve McDonald, also previously departed the campaign because of his former posts.
Politico reported that before Brown's start date, another aide, Daniel Moraff, worked as the de facto campaign manager, according to McDonald. Moraff denied that he was the official campaign manager.
What they're saying: "Graham is a dear friend," Brown said in a statement to Axios. "I started this campaign Tuesday but found out Friday we have a baby on the way. Graham deserves someone who is 100% in on his race and we want to lean into this new experience as a family, so it was best we step back sooner than later so Graham can get the manager he deserves."
The Maine Nazi is going to try and pull a reset—Maine Kampf, am I right?
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