OGUNQUIT, Maine — After Graham Platner’s campaign for the U.S. Senate was roiled in the last week by the unearthing of past Reddit posts and his tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, a steadfast ally introduced him at a packed Wednesday event.
It was his mother, Leslie Harlow, who stood on the stage of Ogunquit’s Leavitt Theatre packed with 500 attendees and another 100 in an overflow area to share stories about her son and his return from overseas military deployments.
She acknowledged her son’s “bad week.” She also handed out an old photo that was passed around the theater showing her and Platner standing together outside the U.S. Capitol, adding “this is who Graham Platner is.”
“My son, Graham Platner, is smart. My son, Graham Platner, is hardworking,” Harlow said. “He believes in change, and he wants to be part of leading the charge.”
Applause, laughter and shouts of approval returned repeatedly as Platner arrived on stage, immediately discussed his recent controversies and then proceeded with a now-familiar stump speech that railed against economic inequality, the health care system and housing costs before he laid out what he would do in Congress if he unseats U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
In response to a question from an audience member mentioning the past week’s tumult toward the end of the 90-minute event, Platner said he is “ashamed of things he once said, but I am not ashamed of who I am today.” He added he and his wife knew “the day was coming” when “the system was going to do everything it could to crush us.”
“The establishment is spooked,” Platner said before nodding to his history as a military veteran. “And I’ll say this, if they thought that this was going to scare me off … they clearly have not spent a lot of time around Marines.”
The defiant atmosphere was a marked departure from the past week of headlines, which came after Gov. Janet Mills entered the primary. His event came hours after he said he had covered up a chest tattoo so it no longer appeared like an image associated with Nazi police.
That tattoo, which Platner said he got during a night of drinking with fellow Marines in 2007, came to light Monday night after Platner appeared on the liberal “Pod Save America” podcast. On Wednesday, the candidate was shirtless on CBS News 13 showing the Celtic-inspired tattoo he got to cover the old tattoo up.
Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer from Sullivan, also faced criticism last week after his since-deleted Reddit posts going back years were unearthed and included him calling rural Americans stupid and racist, questioning the amount that Black customers tip and making other controversial comments.
His political director, former state Rep. Genevieve McDonald, resigned Friday after the old posts came to light and also told the Bangor Daily News on Tuesday that Platner knew his tattoo was a problem weeks ago, which was something his campaign denied while calling McDonald a liar.
The episode has served as the first real test of Platner’s campaign since he launched in August his campaign to beat Collins in 2026. Mills has the backing of national Democrats including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. Another Democratic candidate, Jordan Wood of Bristol, called on Platner to drop out of the race over the tattoo controversy.
But attendees who filled Ogunquit’s Leavitt Theatre or had to stand outside to listen Wednesday evening said in interviews his flurry of controversies are not disqualifying.
Tom Scontras, a 58-year-old Eliot resident, said he is undecided about who he will support in the primary but does not think Platner should drop out. He would love it if Platner additionally “took his entire Reddit file and put it out there.”
The last week has taught Platner that “politics is a nasty, nasty business,” said Eleanor Newtown, a 77-year-old Wells resident whose son in Washington, D.C., told her to check out the upstart candidate.
“There’s a sense of hope with him,” she said. “And I think he’s got the stones to take on the beating he’s going to get.”
