Upstart Maine Senate Hopeful Sorry for Dropping the R-Word

A Maine Senate hopeful is doing more damage control. Graham Platner has apologized for using a derogatory term for people with intellectual disabilities, a slur he uttered in an interview with the Maine Monitor while addressing backlash over an old tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol. The quote from the 41-year-old oyster farmer:

• "I was like, 'Well, that's the f---ing most r------d s--t I've ever heard in my life,'" he said. "'No, I don't have a white supremacist tattoo,' and I never thought about it again."

"I am sorry that I said it," Platner said, adding that he's "endeavoring to improve every single day" and "that my politics is one of inclusivity and one of showing up for everybody." The Marine Corps veteran, who says he covered the 18-year-old tattoo in 2025, had also used the same slur in a since-deleted Reddit post, reports WMTW. The Democratic primary candidate has already been under fire over past Reddit comments, including posts about sexual assault in the military. He released an ad last month apologizing for those posts. Gov. Janet Mills, a rival in the Senate primary who he's currently trouncing in polls, has targeted the comments in an attack ad.