Sen. Chuck Schumer bows out of Graham Platner crisis ahead of Maine Dem primary
WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is standing by his support of Maine Democratic Primary contender Graham Platner, even after allegations of sexual misconduct rocked the political newcomer’s pre-election campaign.
On Monday, Schumer dodged a reporter’s question about whether Democrats should support Platner in tomorrow’s primary. The senator’s office also did not respond to requests for comment.
The 41-year-old veteran is accused of “hating women” in relationships and sometimes abusing them, even twisting his lover’s arm before locking him in a room during an argument, according to ex-girlfriends who spoke to the New York Times.
One of those ex-girlfriends, Lyndsey Fifield, said she “joked” about getting a “Nazi tattoo” after serving in the Marines because the soldiers she served with were “like a death squad” and “not killers” – despite Platner denying knowledge that the skull-and-bones symbol was used by Adolf Hitlerl, or Adolf Hitler’s SSstaffe.
“Throughout this campaign, I’ve been open about how it was the darkest period of my life when I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, self-medicated with alcohol, and was far from a perfect boyfriend,” Platner later said in a statement.
“I take responsibility for all of that, and I wish I could have been better. Any pretense beyond that is false, and I believe it’s politically motivated. I’m not proud of who I was then, but I’m proud of the work I’ve done since then, and the organization we’ve built in Maine.”
Additionally, Amy Gertner, the wife of the Maine Democrat, revealed to her aide last August, during Platner’s campaign launch, that her husband had sent “sexual” messages to at least six women outside of his marriage, The Times and Wall Street Journal reported.
After all these reports, Schumer, who is also the highest-ranking Jewish lawmaker in Congress, told the press at a press conference last Tuesday: “I met with Graham Platner today. We are going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.”
The Senate Democratic leader repeated this statement several times as reporters asked him questions about his potential nominee in Maine’s race to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), only once changing tack to emphasize: “I’ll let Graham Platner.”
While Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) have been unwavering in their public support, a campaign has begun to support Platner’s former primary opponent, Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills.
Both Schumer and Gillibrand endorsed Mills before he dropped out of the race. Schumer’s team even put him in the running, viewing Maine as one of the Senate Democrats’ top picks for the 2026 cycle.
Democratic insiders say swapping Mills, who suspended his campaign in April, for Platner would be unprecedented in Maine political history and almost impossible without risking a partisan civil war, even though the governor has noted he will still be on the June 9 primary ballot.
“The governor is still on the ballot, and after this week’s news, people across Maine are trying to tell him they’re voting for him and encouraging him to get back fully into the race,” a source close to Mills previously told CNN.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, chaired by Gillibrand, also considered spending some ad money after the allegations against Platner, including having an account on the private messaging app Kik, which has been identified in court filings as a hotbed for kidnappers and sex offenders.
Platner’s account name, “phustle0331,” matched the name of his fake Reddit account, “P-Hustle,” where he shared offensive comments about rape and sexual harassment in the military.
“Every Democrat knows that P-Hustle has Nazi ink, he was Captain Dr-Pic on Kik, harassing women and slandering the American military on the Internet,” said Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) told The Post Friday.
The Pennsylvania senator later promised to wear a suit “every day” if Platner could prove he didn’t send “d–k pictures” to children on Kik.
“John Fetterman seems to really think the reason no one likes him is because he refuses to wear a suit. It’s not a hoodie, dude. It’s because you’ve become a stooge of AIPAC and the Republican Party,” Platner responded on his X account.
His campaign acknowledged that the Kik profile had not been deactivated but told the Journal that the candidate had “been deleting the app from his phone.”
