Is Platner too “authentic”?
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What were the key moments of Graham Platner's victory in the Maine Democratic primary?
After winning Maine's Democratic Senate primary last night, Graham Platner thanked his parents. I want to thank my mom and my dad. Thanked his wife. Amy, Amy, Amy. thanked the people of Maine, and talked maybe a bit more than your typical politician about redemption.
Redemption is not just some simple or easy destination. It's a journey. I've made mistakes in my life, mistakes that I regret that I live with and that I continue to learn from.
And I'm still far from perfect.
Plattner, who got around 72% of the vote, will run against Republican Susan Collins in November. He has so far weathered an impressively diverse series of scandals, including did he know that was Nazi imagery tattooed on his chest? And why was he sexting women who are not his wife? And was he physically violent with his exes? Main voters decided they can live with all that. Why, though? That's coming up on Today Explained.
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Alex Seitzwald, deputy editor of the Midcoast Villager in Camden, Maine. What did Maine voters think about Graham Platner? You live there. You talk to people. What's the read on him?
I've been talking to Platner voters since, you know, he jumped in as this totally unknown oyster farmer in August who no one had heard of running against a two-term sitting governor. And he instantly connected with people and developed this strong bond. People really related to him. And I think that helped him survive that first round of scandals in the fall with his tattoo.
Plattner was saying that he did not know the tattoo's resemblance to a Nazi symbol at the time. He is saying that he had the tattoo covered with a new design.
We went to a tattoo parlor in Split, Croatia, and we chose a terrifying-looking skull and crossbones off the wall because we were Marines, and, you know, skulls and crossbones are a pretty standard military thing.
How have Graham Platner's scandals shaped public perception?
And we got those tattoos, and then we all moved on with our lives. And the Reddit controversies...
In other posts from 2013, he minimized challenges faced by service members in reporting sexual assault, writing, quote, You make a choice to consume enough of a substance to lose your self-control. So if you don't want to be in a compromising situation, act like an adult for F's sake.
And then again, with this latest round, these later ones definitely hit differently. They didn't roll off his back the way the earlier ones did. There was a lot of concern. There was a lot of disappointment. But ultimately, Maine Democrats have been trying to get rid of Susan Collins and failing for so long. And they have tried running more traditional candidates and lost. And so I think they are willing to take a chance on him. Yeah. It seems like a very pragmatic calculation that a lot of Maine Democrats are making right now, which is we need to beat Susan Collins. The stakes are too high. Supreme Court, control of the Senate, everything else. And we'll put aside any concerns we have with his personal life if he's our chance, our only chance to beat Collins.
You will know that outside of Maine, there is so much speculation about who Graham Plattner really is. Did he really know that that tattoo on his body was a Nazi tattoo? Did he really mean what he said in those Reddit posts? And this is something that people speculate about wildly. I definitely hear what you're saying. It's like, he's a Democrat. We want Susan Collins out. Are people in Maine speculating about who Graham Plattner really is?
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What were the key moments of Graham Platner's victory in the Maine Democratic primary?
0:01–3:06
2
How have Graham Platner's scandals shaped public perception?
3:06–11:24
3
What do Maine voters think about Graham Platner's authenticity?
11:24–22:15
4
How do Platner's personal struggles influence his political narrative?
22:15–26:50