Topline
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said on Sunday that Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, has “questions to answer” following reports that Platner’s wife flagged to his campaign sexually explicit texts Platner sent to other women.
Key Facts
“I have concerns,” Booker told ABC News on Sunday when asked if Platner could jeopardize Democrats’ control of the Senate, adding, “That guy has questions to answer. That’s what campaigns are for.”
Booker’s comments come after the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported that Amy Gertner, who married Platner in 2023, told Platner’s Senate campaign last year about sexually explicit texts he sent to several women, to ensure they didn’t impact his campaign.
Former Maine state legislator Genevieve McDonald, who also served as the Platner campaign’s political director before leaving in October, told the Times that Gertner reached out to her before a rally with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., indicating Platner exchanged texts with as many as a dozen women.
McDonald told the Times the Senate is “not a training ground for redemption,” and instead a “place for proven leaders with moral clarity and integrity.”
Platner’s campaign released a video from Gertner on Saturday, in which Gertner said she was “really angry, disappointed” that her disclosure was made public and that she “[finds] it really shameful that there’s a group of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip instead of talking about real issues that Graham is running on.”
Platner’s Controversies—from Reddit Posts To A Nazi Tattoo
Platner was criticized last year after some of his past social media posts resurfaced, including some in which he reportedly referred to himself as a “communist,” called white rural people racist and stupid and encouraged people not to use substances to avoid being raped. Platner apologized for the posts and said he was “deeply sorry,” pointing to the “disillusionment” he felt when he returned home after serving tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Platner also drew criticism after a video surfaced of him shirtless with a tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol. Platner told “Pod Save America” he was “not a Nazi” and was a “lifelong opponent” of Nazism, suggesting he got the tattoo while “very inebriated” while he was a Marine in 2007 and that he was unaware of its Nazi links. He covered the tattoo up in October after promising to have it removed. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., told CNN last week he believed the tattoo should still be “personally disqualifying.”
Key Background
Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer, emerged as the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for Senate in Maine after Gov. Janet Mills dropped out in April. He has been endorsed by several Democrats, including Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., And Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who reiterated his support for Platner after reports of his texts emerged Saturday, writing on X he was “proud” of Platner for “having the character to stand up against the war in Iran, against Genocide, and against an unfair and lopsided economy.” Platner will challenge Maine’s long-time Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins.