Politics
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BAR HARBOR, Maine — The latest controversies rocking oyster farmer Graham Platner’s insurgent U.S. Senate bid showed no signs of curbing his support at a rally here alongside Maine progressive candidates and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California.
Hundreds of Mainers packed into the historic Criterion Theatre for the event, which came just a day after the New York Times reported that three of Platner’s ex-girlfriends alleged toxic behavior. On Wednesday, Platner returned home early from a trip to Washington, D.C., after seeking to assuage senators concerned about his past and any further potential damaging news following reports he sent sexually explicit messages to women early in his marriage.
The Democrats hope Platner, who effectively toppled Gov. Janet Mills’ Senate campaign and became the presumptive nominee in late April, can oust five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins to flip the chamber in November.
“We need new blood,” Ann Akerson of Bar Harbor said as she waited in line along Cottage Street. She wore a shirt emblazoned with a fist and the words, “Grab them by the ballot,” a play on President Donald Trump’s notoriously vulgar remark about grabbing women in a 2016 Access Hollywood recording. She said she wasn’t concerned about Platner’s private life.
“What happens between them and their house and their bedroom, that’s their business,” she said. “What can he do for us? That is our business.”
Sylvia Boyer, 66, of Ellsworth, said she doesn’t condone any bad behavior of Platner’s.
“But I do think that he’s changed and he’s apologized,” she said before citing multiple allegations of infidelity and assault by Trump. “Republicans have more baggage and they’re acting like [Platner’s] the worst criminal in the world.”
Platner thanked Mainers for continuing to support him in a speech that was at times defiant in addressing what he called “weaponized” attacks digging into his past. In the 24 hours since the latest Times story, the campaign reported its biggest fundraising day, at $200,000 as of 8:30 p.m., since Mills suspended her bid.
“Since the beginning, Maine, you’ve had my back,” he said. “When politically-motivated serious and false allegations are made against me, Maine, you have my back,” he said. “I will always have your back.”
Khanna wasn’t shy about addressing the recent controversies, saying no one has led a perfect life and that, “We reject misogyny.”
“You know who else rejects it? Graham Platner,” he said. “The years he came back [from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan] were not the best years. He’s ashamed of some of the things he did, and then unlike some others, he took accountability for it. And he’s worked to be a better man.”
Khanna said the entire country must heal with “grace” and “redemption” after years of division.
“If we can find a way to build that redemption through this campaign, through this transition, maybe you would show a way for this country to redeem itself,” he said.
Mary Swift of Bar Harbor said her daughters had told her that recent news about Platner “is making it hard to want to vote for him.” But she tells them, “forget it” because of where Platner stands on the issues.
“I don’t like what he’s done, but by comparison to Republicans, it’s absolutely nothing,” she said.
The rally also served as a pre-Primary Day boost for fellow Democrats former state Senate President Troy Jackson and State Auditor Matt Dunlap, who are running for governor and Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, respectively.
Both railed against income inequality, the Trump administration and a power structure that had undercut Americans’ economic opportunities and health insurance.
“Power and influence always think they can stop progress, because they’ve done it forever,” Jackson said. “They think they can hold us down. But they can’t.”
Dunlap, a Bar Harbor native who’s lived in Old Town for more than 30 years, said he hears from voters who don’t have access to health insurance or live three hours from a clinic, and from Mainers who can’t afford their homes.
The former secretary of state, who’s aiming to face former Gov. Paul LePage, called out Congress for bailing “out the banks, they didn’t bail out the working families on the hook” for the housing crisis.
“Congress is besieged by an army of corporate lobbyists,” he said. “We need to change that.”