BAR HARBOR, Maine — As he returned to the campaign trail Friday, Graham Platner took a moment to indirectly respond to new allegations of “toxic” and “disturbing” behavior that three women from his past relationships criticized him for.
At the same time, hundreds of supporters signaled to Platner that they were still with him, despite a torrent of negative attention. They gave him several standing ovations and at one point chanted the name of his wife, Amy Gertner, when he asked for her support.
In his remarks, the Democratic Senate candidate spoke of Maine as a state that gave him the personal strength to rebuild from the brink.
“From the beginning, Maine, you have supported me. When hurtful things I said on the internet a decade ago were made public as I shared my personal journey through PTSD and the darkness of recovery, responsibility and growth, Maine supported me,” he said to applause.
Platner then more specifically referenced Thursday’s New York Times article that detailed his former girlfriends’ allegations, saying that “as every piece of this past and this journey is unearthed, litigated and weaponized, you have my back.”
While some women described positive experiences with Platner, three did not. One woman, Lyndsey Fifield, said that when she was dating Platner from about 2013 to 2015, he “twisted her arm behind her back, pushed her into a bedroom and held the door closed on the other side so she couldn’t get out, telling her to stay there until she was ‘calm down.’
Fifield has also worked for conservative groups and campaigns, which is what Platner appeared to be referring to when he said some of the allegations were “politically motivated” and were “false.” The former military veteran opened up about the journey he took to overcome PTSD after his military tours.
“The State of Maine raised me and the State of Maine saved me,” Platner said. “To all of you, Maine, I will always support you.”
At one point, Platner asked his wife to get up. The crowd chanted “Amy! Amy” while giving her a standing ovation.
Gertner took center stage last week after the Wall Street Journal first reported that Platner had sent sexually explicit text messages to several women while they were married. The story came to light after a former campaign staffer revealed that Gertner herself revealed sexting on the campaign trail last year as a potential vulnerability.
Last week, Gertner defended her husband and explained how the marriage was difficult, but that they became stronger together afterward.
Platner did not speak to reporters after the event, but he gave local interviews, including to Maine Public Radio, where he denied ever being physically threatening.
In an interview with MS NOW on Thursday, Platner disputed some of the allegations in the New York Times article, including that he was physically violent.
“Anything that claims to be physical, anything that claims that I knew what my tattoo was, those are statements from someone who is politically motivated,” he said.
Platner is trying to move beyond the headlines about his personal life and refocus the message on the need for change in Maine. On Friday, his campaign announced that he had raised $200,000 since the New York Times article appeared and called it the best fundraising day since his primary opponent, Gov. Janet Mills, withdrew from the race. The primary elections take place on Tuesday.
In speaking to Mainers, he tried to refocus the conversation on general election opponent, Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Collins has long managed to win re-election by winning the crossover vote and independents by running as a moderate.
Platner called this image a “masquerade.”
“We see through this charade, and we see through what she’s doing. She voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, who before he was busy dismantling the Voting Rights Act and taking away the right to vote for black people in the South, he was busy out there working to dismantle a woman’s right to choose, and she told us, she told us that was settled law,” Platner said. “She looked him in the eye and he told her he would never do such a thing. Well, either she lied to us or she’s an idiot. Either way, you shouldn’t be a U.S. senator from the state of Maine.”
At least a half-dozen supporters who showed up to Platner’s event Friday said they support him regardless of the latest round of allegations.
Janice Low said she wanted to hear from Platner personally this evening after his remarks. His decision: “I will definitely vote for him. »
She said what was “criminal” was the war in Iran, saying President Donald Trump never received congressional approval for the military operation and that she ultimately wanted to oust Collins, who voted with Trump most of the time.
Galen Low, her husband, added that he believed Platner had moved beyond the allegations against him.
“I’ve gotten over the feeling that people can’t make mistakes and are doomed to the things they’ve done,” Galen Low said. “I didn’t like hearing some of the things that I heard, but then I recognize that we are people and as people we sometimes do things that we’re not proud of. But that doesn’t mean we can’t admit it and move on.
State Rep. Gary Friedmann, who was also in attendance Friday evening, called Platner’s speech “brilliant.”
“Mainers are pretty down to earth and we’ve all made a lot of mistakes in our lives, we’ve all done things we regret,” he said. “When it comes to who we vote for in November, it’s going to be the candidate who truly stands up for the people, and we realize that’s not what Susan Collins does.”