It's primary day in Maine, with the big question being whether Graham Platner will deliver a strong showing despite a drumbeat of negative headlines. As Politico reports, some Democrats who have soured on the Democratic candidate for Senate hope a weak result might convince Platner to bow out and let the party replace him with another candidate, perhaps Gov. Janet Mills. As Tuesday arrives, Platner has yet another headache to deal with: One of his earliest political hires is urging Maine Democrats to walk away from him in a Washington Post op-ed. The US needs leaders with "sound judgment and ethics," writes Genevieve McDonald, who once served as political director of the campaign.
"Platner has shown us that he is not such a leader," she writes. "He exhibits a pattern of dishonest behavior that is impossible to ignore." She runs through his various controversies, including a since-removed tattoo with Nazi connotations, and accuses the candidate and his team of "feigned ignorance" about its meaning. McDonald also writes that women have come to her with "disturbing stories about Platner," who has acknowledged sexting while married but denied allegations of getting physically rough with some.
McDonald, who says she rejected a $15,000 offer to sign a non-disclosure agreement, calls out Sen. Bernie Sanders and other Platner supporters for being casually dismissive of the controversies. In American politics today, "we have learned to excuse what we should condemn," she writes. Read her full piece, in which she argues that a Platner withdrawal would allow Maine Democrats to pick a new candidate at a convention. The Politico story, however, doesn't find much appetite for that among most Maine voters.
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