{"id":291,"date":"2026-06-09T11:39:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T11:39:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291"},"modified":"2026-06-09T11:39:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T11:39:39","slug":"democrats-argue-backing-platner-isnt-like-backing-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291","title":{"rendered":"Democrats Argue Backing Platner Isn’t Like Backing Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

WALDOBORO, Maine \u2014 The dynamics are familiar to anyone who has followed national politics in the last decade: a populist on his way to trouncing the establishment candidate in a primary, and a party whose members are betting on a less-than-perfect frontrunner with obvious momentum.<\/p>\n

Read more Three Ways the Commanders Can Get Jayden Daniels Back on Track<\/a><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. It\u2019s Graham Platner, the favorite in Maine\u2019s closely watched U.S. Senate primary, and Democrats.<\/p>\n

And in the state, voters say that despite those similarities, the situation is not the same for a number of reasons ranging from the nature of the controversies to how the politicians have navigated the fallout.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are big differences, despite the background,\u201d Paula X, a member of the Waldoboro Democratic Town Committee, told NOTUS at one of the organization\u2019s meetings Monday night. \u201cPlatner owns what he did, he talks about it, he explains it, he\u2019s not proud of it, and he is working on being better.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, voters will choose between Platner and the other leading candidate Gov. Janet Mills, the candidate reluctantly coaxed into the race whose campaign largely fizzled. Democrats are resigned to the reality that they\u2019re likely to enter the general election against Sen. Susan Collins with Platner, a candidate facing backlash.<\/p>\n

Among the controversies Platner has had to respond to are past derogatory remarks on Reddit<\/u><\/span>, which he apologized for, and a tattoo that looked like a Nazi symbol<\/u><\/span>, which he subsequently covered up. In response to reporting about extramarital sexting<\/u><\/span>, he and his wife have been open about their marriage not being perfect and how they see a counselor. In response to New York Times reporting<\/u><\/span> about intimidating behavior toward past girlfriends, Platner said, \u201cI take responsibility for all of that, and wish I had been better.\u201d<\/p>\n

That accountability is why some supporters say they\u2019re willing to stick with him now.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrump never claimed to have changed,\u201d said Briana Markoff, a voter in Brunswick, Maine, who identifies as a democratic socialist. \u201cHe never came out against misogyny after he said he wanted to grab a woman by the pussy. Platner has said very clearly that he\u2019s learned a lot, he\u2019s grown a lot. His wife stands by him, and I don\u2019t think we have any option but to trust that at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to an inquiry from NOTUS, the campaign sent a press release highlighting news interviews with Maine voters saying that they value Platner\u2019s authenticity and will continue to stand behind him.<\/p>\n

At a town hall Friday night, Platner said his past was being used against him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaine, you have my back,\u201d he said. \u201cAs every single piece of [my] past and journey gets dug up, litigated and weaponized, you have my back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Results for D.C.\u2019s first ranked-choice election could take days<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump faced an entirely different set of allegations against him as a candidate, ranging from the \u201cAccess Hollywood\u201d tape that threatened to tank his 2016 campaign<\/u><\/span> to being convicted in the midst of his 2024 campaign of falsifying past business records<\/u><\/span>. There are countless other controversies that have given Republicans reason to think twice, only to rally around him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get really tired of Democrats being held to some lofty moral standard when Republicans are just \u2018boys will be boys,\u2019\u201d said Ann Leamon, the co-chair of the Waldoboro Democrats, who said she was speaking for herself and not on behalf of the town or county party.<\/p>\n

Leamon acknowledged that Platner\u2019s controversies make him a risk for the party.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, you\u2019d like a choir boy. Who wouldn\u2019t like a choir boy?\u201d she said. \u201cBut it\u2019s the internet age, it\u2019s the \u2018everything\u2019s out there\u2019 age.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet, she said he has better odds of beating Collins than Mills. A few months ago, Platner would have been a \u201cno-brainer\u201d candidate that could beat Collins, Leamon said. The recent allegations shake that up.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow he\u2019s giving people things to think about,\u201d she said. \u201cIn a way it\u2019s, \u2018Do you believe in redemption?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Several voters NOTUS spoke to in Maine said that the issues surrounding Platner concerned them, but they appreciate that he\u2019s acknowledged his mistakes and apologized. They say he\u2019s pushing a message that resonates with them. And, they really want to beat Collins.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people are comparing [Platner] to Trump as being sort of a rebel who says what he wants and stuff,\u201d said Rebecca Waddell, a Democrat in Waldoboro. \u201cHe\u2019s clearly much more educated, he\u2019s much more rational.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even one Democrat who planned to vote against Platner in the primary said she saw the situation as completely different.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose people chose to support an immoral human in order to get immoral policies through,\u201d said Lindsay Livingston, who is not voting for Platner due to his tattoo and past remarks, said about Republicans. \u201cSo, no, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the same thing as hoping and trusting someone who\u2019s promising more moral policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Two Friends Formed a PAC. Now One Has Accused the Other of Theft.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And it\u2019s not even a close comparison, they argued as primary day approached.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2026-election"],"yoast_head":"\nDemocrats Argue Backing Platner Isn't Like Backing Trump - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Democrats Argue Backing Platner Isn't Like Backing Trump - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"And it\u2019s not even a close comparison, they argued as primary day approached.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-09T11:39:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=291#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=291\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"headline\":\"Democrats Argue Backing Platner Isn’t Like Backing Trump\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T11:39:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=291\"},\"wordCount\":874,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=291#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ff136fde90c1e54c25ac6ebd755cb6d2-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"2026 Election\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=291#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=291\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=291\",\"name\":\"Democrats Argue Backing Platner Isn't Like Backing Trump - Modern Home Journals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=291#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=291#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ff136fde90c1e54c25ac6ebd755cb6d2-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-09T11:39:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=291#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=291\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=291#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ff136fde90c1e54c25ac6ebd755cb6d2-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/ff136fde90c1e54c25ac6ebd755cb6d2-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks at a campaign event Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo\\\/Robert F. Bukaty)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=291#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Democrats Argue Backing Platner Isn’t Like Backing Trump\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Modern Home Journals\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Democrats Argue Backing Platner Isn't Like Backing Trump - Modern Home Journals","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Democrats Argue Backing Platner Isn't Like Backing Trump - Modern Home Journals","og_description":"And it\u2019s not even a close comparison, they argued as primary day approached.","og_url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291","og_site_name":"Modern Home Journals","article_published_time":"2026-06-09T11:39:39+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0"},"headline":"Democrats Argue Backing Platner Isn’t Like Backing Trump","datePublished":"2026-06-09T11:39:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291"},"wordCount":874,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ff136fde90c1e54c25ac6ebd755cb6d2-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["2026 Election"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291","name":"Democrats Argue Backing Platner Isn't Like Backing Trump - Modern Home Journals","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ff136fde90c1e54c25ac6ebd755cb6d2-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-09T11:39:39+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ff136fde90c1e54c25ac6ebd755cb6d2-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ff136fde90c1e54c25ac6ebd755cb6d2-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks at a campaign event Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo\/Robert F. Bukaty)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=291#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Democrats Argue Backing Platner Isn’t Like Backing Trump"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/","name":"Modern Home Journals","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/modernhomejournals.com"],"url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}