The bewildering Senate campaign of Graham Platner

By Easton Martin | June 13, 2026

The United States Senate race in Maine has entered bizarre territory following a series of highly unusual and disturbing revelations surrounding progressive Democratic candidate Graham Platner. A campaign that began focused on economic populism has transformed into a whirlwind of unsettling controversy, culminating in a bombshell report detailing allegations of physical misconduct and erratic behavior.

​The situation reached a boiling point following a New York Times report featuring an interview with Lyndsey Fifield, an ex-girlfriend who dated Platner for two years starting in 2013. Fifield alleged a history of volatile and physically threatening behavior. According to her account, Platner frequently grabbed her by the shoulders, once yanked her out of a taxi by her wrist, and repeatedly left marks on her skin.​In one of the most serious accusations, Fifield described an argument during which she claims Platner twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom, and held the door shut from the other side. She noted in her diary at the time that he was highly toxic and abusive. She also stated that he left an AR-15 rifle lying around his apartment and would sharpen an axe while watching television.​Adding to the surreal nature of the report, Fifield alleged that Platner made deeply disturbing comments regarding home defense, asserting that if anyone ever broke into his residence, he would rape them to show dominance.​

Platner, a 41-year-old combat veteran and oyster farmer, has fiercely rejected the claims of physical abuse. In an appearance on MS Now with Chris Hayes, Platner stated that any allegations of physicality are simply not true and claimed that the accusations are politically motivated, noting Fifield’s background as a conservative activist. ​However, the physical allegations are only the latest layer in a campaign trail that has stunned observers with its bizarre developments. Just days prior to these revelations, Platner had to publicly address disclosures that he had exchanged sexually explicit text messages with up to a dozen women while married.

His wife, Amy Gertner, released a video defending her husband and dismissed the media coverage of the texts as gossip.​Platner has also spent months answering for a large skull-and-crossbones chest tattoo that is widely recognized as a Nazi symbol, specifically the SS Totenkopf. Platner claimed he received the tattoo while on leave as a Marine in Croatia in 2007 and was entirely unaware of its hateful meaning until weeks into his campaign. He has since had the image covered with a different design. Fifield, however, contested his ignorance, telling reporters that he had taught her the German word for the symbol years ago and explicitly joked about it.​The candidate’s digital footprint has added even more fuel to the fire.

Investigators uncovered past posts on Reddit where Platner used “homophobic” slurs, made comments dismissive of military sexual assault, called all police officers bastards, and suggested that victims of sexual assault should take responsibility for getting too intoxicated. Platner has apologized for the online posts, attributing his behavior during that era to a dark period of undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol abuse.