2026-06-05T20:54:48.225Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/05/politics/graham-platner-janet-mills-maine-democrats
缅因州波特兰——
格雷厄姆·普拉特纳仍有可能在周二的初选中赢得缅因州民主党参议院提名，但该州一些曾对他的竞选活动感到兴奋的选民如今表示，在一系列有关其个人行为的负面报道曝光后，他们将忍着不情愿投出选票。
在缅因州波特兰接受CNN采访时，桑德拉·布雷登表示，她不太相信普拉特纳像他所说的那样已经改过自新，也不认同他所称的自己不知道那处带有纳粹相关符号纹身的来历——该纹身后来已被遮盖。
不过布雷登称，她还是会“赌一把普拉特纳，如果他能按我期望的方式投票，并且能击败苏珊·柯林斯的话”。
“我会投他的票，没错，但我并不乐意。我不赞成那些破事，”她说。
普拉特纳是海军陆战队退伍军人、牡蛎养殖户，他的民粹主义竞选活动曾在民主党人中引发广泛关注，但近几个月来接连曝出丑闻。他仍有可能在周二获得提名。他多次表示不会退出竞选，并且已经将曾是民主党顶级招募对象的缅因州州长珍妮特·米尔斯挤出了竞选行列——米尔斯虽已暂停竞选，但名字仍留在选票上。
普拉特纳的竞选团队最新遭遇的打击来自周四《纽约时报》的一篇报道，三名前女友在文中描述了两人之间充满不稳定和“有毒”的关系，包括酗酒、不忠、对女性的贬低行为，其中一人还指控他进行人身恐吓。
普拉纳特的竞选团队表示，他“强烈驳斥”任何有关人身恐吓或争执的指控。他也否认在去年秋季参选前知道该纹身的来历。
缅因州的这场参议院席位竞争对民主党11月翻转四个共和党-held席位、赢得参议院多数席位的机会至关重要。
另一名缅因州选民伍迪·海沃德告诉CNN，缅因州需要“新鲜血液”进入参议院代表该州。海沃德表示，有关普拉特纳纳粹符号纹身以及其他争议的报道“令人不安”，“确实让人灰心”。
“但我们还有什么——我们还有别的选择吗？对吧？”他问道。
祖·凯恩“不太在意这家伙的缺点”，他听过普拉特纳的演讲，对他的政见感兴趣。
“他确实有包袱，”凯恩说。“但据我所知，比起寡头政治，他的包袱要小多了。”
普拉特纳定于周五晚间回到巴港的竞选活动中，他和其他周二初选的民主党候选人将与加利福尼亚州进步派众议员罗·卡纳一同参加集会。普拉特纳还定于周日在波特兰举行市政厅会议——这一迹象表明他已经在为初选之后做打算——他的竞选团队已经安排了下周三的虚拟市政厅活动。
珍妮特·米尔斯的动向
普拉特纳周四表示，他从未考虑过退出竞选。
“我从来没有想过要退出这场竞选，”普拉特纳在接受MS NOW采访时说，他当时指的是自己和妻子艾米。“我会全身心投入到底。”
无论如何，全国民主党人推动他退出竞选的影响力可能有限。毕竟，米尔斯在作为挑战柯林斯的热门招募人选后暂停了参议院竞选。
米尔斯的名字仍将出现在下周二的选票上。周五早些时候，一位熟悉其动向的消息人士告诉CNN，有人鼓励她重新参加缅因州参议院初选。
“州长仍在选票上，在本周的报道曝光后，缅因州各地的民众都联系她，表示会投她的票，并鼓励她全面重返竞选，”该消息人士说。
该消息人士没有透露米尔斯是否已决定恢复积极竞选活动。几周前，她因筹款困难且普拉特纳在民调中占据绝对领先优势而暂停了竞选。但这是继《波特兰新闻先驱报》采访后，一周内米尔斯第二次暗示，她仍可作为普拉特纳的替代人选留在选票上。
米尔斯的前支持者、前州参议员林恩·布罗姆利在《纽约时报》的报道发布后告诉CNN，她仍预计普拉特纳会赢得初选，但希望他之后能退出，让州民主党确定替代候选人。
“如果她在暂停竞选的情况下还能拿到20%的支持率，这很能说明问题，”布罗姆利在谈到米尔斯时说。
在周四晚间的MS NOW采访中，当被问及米尔斯可能重拾支持的可能性时，普拉特纳略显不悦。当被问及米尔斯提醒选民她仍在选票上一事时，他称这是“一种机会主义行为”。
缅因州民主党选民贝丝·丁达斯告诉CNN，普拉特纳否认自己知道纹身来历的那一刻，她就不再支持他了。她说普拉特纳现在“已经毫无可信度可言”。
她补充说，她“完全支持”米尔斯。
“我认为不幸的是，最终我们会再次输掉这场竞选，我们将再经历六年苏珊·柯林斯的任期，她一次又一次地辜负了缅因州人民，”丁达斯说。
波特兰的另一名民主党选民邦妮·德普承认，普拉特纳“发表过一些愚蠢的言论”，但她相信他确实不知道自己的纹身是纳粹符号。她说，他在服兵役后患上了创伤后应激障碍，应该得到谅解。
谈到米尔斯，德普说：“我认为她是一位出色的州长——我两次都投了她的票，我尊重她所做的很多事情。但现在是时候换新鲜血液了，作为一名婴儿潮一代，我可以这么说。”
“我还有到周二的时间来做决定，但我几乎肯定会投他的票。我认为这些破事大多不关别人的事，”德普说。
有关米尔斯的讨论正值一些此前表态支持普拉特纳的民主党人在周二初选前试图与他保持距离之际。
米尔斯退出后，该州竞争激烈的第二国会选区的主要候选人、州参议员乔·巴达齐表示，他“期待着与普拉特纳在华盛顿合作”。当周五被问及普拉特纳时，巴达齐竞选团队的高级顾问贾里德·伯恩斯坦在一份声明中表示，巴达齐“专注于在初选中取得优异成绩，并击败推定的共和党候选人保罗·勒佩奇”。
第二国会选区的另一位候选人马特·邓拉普呼吁民主党人在米尔斯退出后团结支持普拉特纳，并计划与普拉特纳一同参加卡纳的集会。
缅因州以外的民主党人也在谈论米尔斯。
宾夕法尼亚州参议员约翰·费特曼表示，选民应该在初选中支持米尔斯。
“我认为现在是时候让缅因州选民看看这位现任州长，一位可敬的女性，她是一位已经赢得全州选举的坚定民主党人，”这位宾夕法尼亚州民主党人周四告诉CNN的马努·拉朱。
‘What else do we have?’ Maine Democrats signal they’ll stick with Graham Platner, some with regret
2026-06-05T20:54:48.225Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/05/politics/graham-platner-janet-mills-maine-democrats
Portland, Maine—
Graham Platner is still likely to win Maine’s Democratic Senate nomination in Tuesday’s primary — but some voters in the state who once were excited by his campaign now say they’ll hold their noses while casting their ballots after a series of negative reports about his personal behavior.
Speaking to CNN in Portland, Maine, Sandra Braden said she doesn’t have “a lot of faith” Platner has changed as he says he has, nor does she believe his assertion that he didn’t know the origins of a tattoo with Nazi-linked iconography that he’s since had covered.
Still, Braden said, she’ll take a chance on Platner “if he votes the way I want him to and he can defeat Susan Collins.”
“I’m going to vote for him, yeah, but I don’t like it. I’m not in favor of all that s**t,” she said.
Platner, the Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer whose populist campaign drew widespread notice among Democrats but has been rocked by a series of scandals in recent months, is still likely to secure the nomination Tuesday. He’s repeatedly said he won’t drop out and already boxed out Gov. Janet Mills of Maine, a top party recruit who suspended her campaign but remains on the ballot.
The latest blow to Platner’s campaign came in a New York Times story published Thursday in which three of Platner’s ex-girlfriends described volatile and “toxic” relationships, including allegations of heavy drinking, infidelity, demeaning behavior toward women and, in one account, physical intimidation.
Platner “strongly disputes” any claims of physical intimidation or altercations, his campaign said. And he has denied knowing about the origins of the tattoo before he entered the race last fall.
The race against five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine is critical to Democrats’ chances of flipping four GOP-held seats and winning a Senate majority in November.
Another Maine voter, Woody Hayward, told CNN that Maine needs “fresh blood” representing the state in the Senate. Hayward said reports about Platner’s tattoo of a Nazi symbol and other controversies are “troublesome” and “disheartening for sure.”
“But what else – what else do we have, right?” he asked.
Zoo Cain was “not really interested in the guy’s foibles,” and has seen Platner speak and is interested in his vision.
“He’s got some baggage,” Cain said. “But way less baggage than the oligarchy, as far as I can tell.”
Platner is set to return to the campaign trail Friday evening in Bar Harbor, where he and other Democratic candidates in Tuesday’s primary will attend a rally with progressive California Rep. Ro Khanna. Platner is also set to hold a town hall Sunday in Portland, and — in a sign he is already planning past the primary — his campaign scheduled a virtual town hall next Wednesday.
Where Janet Mills stands
Platner said Thursday he had not considered ending his campaign.
“It has never crossed our mind to drop out of this thing,” Platner said in an interview with MS NOW, referring to him and his wife, Amy. “I am fully committed to this till the end.”
National Democrats may have limited influence to push him out of the race anyway. After all, Mills suspended her Senate bid after being a prized recruit to challenge Collins.
Mills is still on next Tuesday’s ballot. Earlier Friday, a source close to her told CNN she is getting encouragement to reenter the state’s Senate primary.
“The Governor remains on the ballot, and in the wake of this week’s stories, people across Maine are reaching out to tell her they’re voting for her and encouraging her to get fully back into the race,” the source said.
The source did not say whether Mills has decided to resume active campaigning, weeks after she suspended her bid amid struggles with fundraising and with Platner holding a dominant lead in polls. But the statement is the second time in a week that Mills has signaled that she remains on the ballot as an alternative to Platner, after an interview with the Portland Press-Herald.
A former Mills supporter, ex-state Sen. Lynn Bromley, told CNN after the Times story was published that she still expected Platner to win the primary but hoped he would drop out afterward and let the state party identify a replacement nominee.
“If she came up with 20% with a suspended campaign, that says a lot,” Bromley said, referring to Mills.
During an MS NOW interview Thursday night, Platner bristled slightly at the prospect of Mills regaining support. Asked about her reminder that she is still on the ballot, he called it “a bit of opportunism.”
Beth Dindas, a Maine Democratic voter, told CNN that Platner lost her when he denied knowing about the origins of his tattoo. She said Platner now “has no credibility whatsoever.”
She added that she supports Mills “all the way.”
“I think that ultimately, unfortunately, we’re going to lose this race again and we’re going to have six more years of Susan Collins, who has let down the people of Maine time after time,” Dindas said.
Another Democratic voter in Portland, Bonnie Depp, acknowledged that Platner has “made some stupid comments,” but that she believes his claims that he did not know his tattoo was a Nazi symbol. She said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after his time in the military and deserves a break.
As for Mills, Depp said: “I think she was a wonderful governor – I voted for her both times, I respected many things that she did. But it’s time for newer blood and as a boomer, I can say that.”
“I got until Tuesday to decide, but I’m pretty sure I’ll vote for him. I don’t think a lot of this crap is anybody else’s business,” Depp said.
The chatter about Mills comes as some Democrats who previously indicated support for Platner sought to keep him at arm’s length ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
After Mills dropped out, a leading contender for the state’s battleground 2nd Congressional District, state Sen. Joe Baldacci, said he “look[ed] forward to working with Platner in Washington.” Asked about Platner on Friday, a top adviser to Baldacci’s campaign, Jared Bornstein, said in a statement that Baldacci “is focused on finishing the primary strong and defeating Paul LePage,” the presumptive GOP nominee.
Another candidate for the 2nd District, Matt Dunlap, called on Democrats to unify behind Platner after Mills dropped out and was set to attend Khanna’s rally with Platner.
Democrats outside Maine are talking about Mills, too.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman said voters should get behind Mills in the primary.
“I think what’s time is for Maine voters to take a look at the sitting governor, an honorable woman, and that is a committed Democrat that’s already won statewide,” the Pennsylvania Democrat told CNN’s Manu Raju on Thursday.