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WATCH: Dem senators excuse Platner's conduct at crisis huddle with embattled Maine candidate
By Kiera McDonald
Published June 02, 2026
Democratic senators attending a closed-door meeting with Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner on Tuesday brushed off questions about the controversies engulfing his campaign, with some expressing confidence in his chances.
Platner made a crisis trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with Democratic senators a week before his primary election on June 9 as his campaign continues to face questions over his alleged sexting scandals and resurfaced online posts.
"I'm very confident we are going to win Maine," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., told reporters outside the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee building when asked if she still supports the progressive candidate.
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner stand together during a "Fighting Oligarchy" tour stop at the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus in Orono, Maine, on May 24, 2026. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Pressed on whether she had confidence in Platner, Gillibrand replied, "I do. I have confidence that we are going to win Maine and I have no doubt."
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., defended Platner, pointing to the millions of dollars being spent on advertising in Maine targeting the Democratic candidate.
"All I can tell you is that the wealthiest people in this country have now reserved close to $100 million in TV ads in a small state like Maine," Sanders said. "So what are the billionaires worried about? Why are they spending so much money trying to defeat this guy?"
"The answer is that he's going to stand up to the oligarchies," he concluded ahead of the sit-down with Platner.
SANDERS SAYS PLATNER HAS THE 'GUTS' TO FIGHT BILLIONAIRES DESPITE GROWING SCANDAL PILEUP
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., leaves the Senate Democrats lunch in the Mansfield Room at the Capitol on March 15, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., declined to answer questions from reporters about the controversies surrounding Platner's campaign as she entered the meeting at DSCC headquarters.
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., for his part, said the decision is "going to be up to voters in Maine."
Asked whether he believes the moderate jurisdiction will back Platner, the Vermont senator replied, "We'll see."
Among the controversies facing the leading Democratic candidate is a Wall Street Journal report that his wife discovered sexually explicit text exchanges with multiple women just months after they were married in 2024.
In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, Platner said, "Amy and I went through something hard — because of me."
"We did the work, and I’m grateful for her every hour of every day," he added. "I’ve learned throughout this campaign is that people don’t care about gossip or headlines, they care that you’re fighting for their hospitals, their paycheck, their kids."
A Kik account appearing to belong to Platner featuring a sexually suggestive photo of Platner posing shirtless with only a towel wrapped around his waist was found. However, his campaign told Fox News Digital that the account was created while he was single and "has long been deleted from his phone."
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The Marine Corps veteran has also faced criticism over a Nazi-linked tattoo and resurfaced online posts, including a 2019 Reddit post that said Purple Heart veteran Teddy Daniels "didn't deserve to live."
Platner will face David Costello in Maine's Democratic Senate primary on June 9. The winner will take on five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the general election.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watch-dem-senators-dismiss-platners-scandals-ahead-crisis-huddle-embattled-maine-candidate