Report details allegations of unsettling behavior toward women by Graham Platner

By Andrew Kaczynski, Patrick Svitek, CNN

(CNN) — Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is facing allegations of unsettling and in least one case physically threatening behavior toward women he dated, according to a report published Thursday by The New York Times.

The report, which is based on interviews with six women who previously dated Platner, comes amid intensified scrutiny of his candidacy and raises new questions about the viability of a candidate who has become his party’s presumptive nominee against Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Not all of the women who spoke to the New York Times described troubling behavior from Platner. But three of them described volatile and “toxic” relationships, including allegations of heavy drinking, infidelity, demeaning behavior toward women and, in one account, physical intimidation.

Platner “strongly disputes” any claims of physical intimidation or altercations, his campaign said.

Some of the accounts of the women go back more than a decade, to a time when Platner, a combat veteran, had recently left military service. Platner has openly admitted his struggles with PTSD, depression and drinking during this time.

The story includes allegations from one former partner, Lyndsey Fifield, that Platner grabbed her by the shoulders regularly, sometimes hard enough to leave marks.

Fifield also alleged to the Times that during an argument, she recalled Platner twisting her arm behind her back, shoving her into a bedroom and holding the door closed so she couldn’t get out.

In a statement to CNN, Platner disputed claims of physical intimidation and said the most serious allegations were false and politically motivated.

“Throughout this campaign, I’ve been open about what was a very dark period of my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, too often self medicated with alcohol, and was a far from perfect boyfriend,” Platner said in the statement. “I take responsibility for all of that, and wish I had been better. Any characterization beyond that is false, and I believe, politically motivated. I’m not proud of who I was then, but I am proud of the work I’ve done since, and the movement we are building in Maine.”

The New York Times’s story on Thursday also added new scrutiny to Platner’s explanation of a tattoo with Nazi symbolism he got while in the military. Fifield, his former girlfriend, recalled Platner referring to it years earlier as “my Totenkopf,” a reference to the skull-and-crossbones emblem used by Nazi SS units.

Platner has previously said he had not understood the symbol’s significance when he got the tattoo while serving in the Marine Corps and had only been made aware of its meaning last October.

But Fifield previously told CNN, while speaking on condition of anonymity , that Platner was aware of the tattoo’s Nazi associations years before the controversy became public last year.

Fifield previously provided text messages reviewed by CNN showing that she told friends in August 2025 — before Platner claimed he knew of the symbol’s Nazi history — that he “has a Nazi tattoo on his chest” and that “it’s a Totenkopf.”

Platner declined to comment to CNN last year on the texts about the tattoo. The campaign stood by his past denials about the tattoo.

The latest allegations come as Democrats have increasingly rallied around Platner after Democratic Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign in April, leaving the political newcomer as the party’s expected nominee in one of the nation’s most closely watched Senate contests.

They also arrive after months of controversies that have forced Platner and his campaign into a nearly constant cycle of damage control and apologies.

Since launching his campaign, Platner has faced scrutiny over deleted social media posts on Reddit in which he called himself a “communist,” dismissed “all” police as bastards, and said White Americans “actually are” racist and stupid. He later disavowed those remarks, telling CNN they reflected a period when he was angry and disillusioned and do not represent his current views.

Last week, Platner was forced to confront reports that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women outside his marriage.

Reports in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal indicated that Platner’s wife had alerted campaign officials to the messages during internal vetting discussions.

Genevieve McDonald, Platner’s former political director, confirmed to CNN that Platner’s wife disclosed to her last year that Platner had been sexting multiple women and that the campaign evaluated the matter as a potential political liability. CNN has not independently confirmed the existence of the messages.

CNN did verify that an account on a messaging app appeared to belong to Platner, under the username “phustle0331,” featuring a profile photo showing Platner shirtless in a bathroom with a towel around his waist and using a handle similar to ones on his since-deleted Reddit account and a now-deleted Instagram account.

The controversies around Platner have prompted Democratic concern that he could jeopardize one of the party’s most promising pickup opportunities in a cycle where they hope to recapture the Senate.

Platner could face new pressure to step aside after the latest allegations, either before or after Tuesday’s primary.

In Maine, general election candidates have until the second Monday in July to withdraw. That would be July 13 this year. Maine law says the state party would then have two weeks to put forward a replacement candidate.

Maine is a crucial state for Democrats in their uphill battle to capture the Senate majority. They need to flip at least four seats, including in states that are more favorable to Republicans than Maine.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had recruited Mills to run and then signaled support for Platner after Mills suspended her campaign in April, citing low campaign funds. Her name remains on Tuesday’s primary ballot, along with that of a third, lesser-known candidate, David Costello.

Schumer did not respond when asked on Capitol Hill after the Times’ latest report if he still supported Platner.

Some Democrats who supported Mills’ Senate campaign believe she should resume it given Platner’s latest controversies. She has not weighed in on that possibility but raised eyebrows Sunday when she reminded a Maine newspaper that her name is still on the ballot.

One of Platner’s biggest allies in Congress, Sen. Bernie Sanders, has stood by him in recent days after the reports about his text messages to other women. Asked Tuesday night if he was worried that more damaging information about Platner would emerge, Sanders said he did not know.

“I think it’s better for this country that we start focusing on the enormous crises facing working people, a corrupt political system, than spending so much time worrying about the personal life of an individual,” Sanders said on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins.”

Platner was scheduled to address the Times story during an 8 p.m. interview on MS NOW.

Republicans responded quickly to the article, signaling they planned to put the allegations front and center in the general election if Platner is his party’s nominee.

“If he’s willing to do this to his own girlfriend, imagine what he’s willing to do in a position of political power,” Delanie Bomar, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said in a statement. “If Chuck Schumer and national Democrats don’t distance themselves from Platner, they’ll be forced to answer for his behavior every day from now until Election Day.”

Democrats were more muted on Platner’s candidacy in the immediate aftermath of the story’s publication.

“We are still going to win Maine,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who chairs the Senate Democratic campaign arm, told CNN.

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a top Platner critic among Democrats in Congress, suggested Maine Democrats should now shift their support to Mills.

“I think what’s time is, is for Maine voters to take a look at the sitting governor, an honorable woman, and that is a committed Democrat that’s already won statewide,” Fetterman told CNN.

A former campaign spokesperson for Mills did not respond to a request for comment on The New York Times story, as well as on Fetterman’s suggestion.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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