Graham Platner sent explicit texts to other women during marriage, wife confirms

Graham Platner of Maine exchanged sexually explicit texts with other women during his marriage, according to information his wife provided to his campaign. Platner, an oyster farmer and former U.S. Marine, became Maine’s presumptive Democratic nominee after Janet Mills suspended her campaign. He is running to unseat five-term Republican Senator Susan Collins amid scrutiny over racist, sexist, and homophobic online posts and a covered-up Totenkopf tattoo. After launching his campaign in August before a Labor Day rally with Bernie Sanders, his team reportedly conducted opposition research. In spring 2025, his wife Amy Gertner found explicit messages on his phone and shared them with the campaign’s political director Genevieve McDonald, who later shared details with reporters, deeply hurting Gertner.

"I confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend, she said. I trusted this person with the most private chapter of our lives the early days of our marriage before any campaign was on our mind. We did the hard work that marriage requires. We went to counseling. We were honest with each other in ways that weren't easy, she added. 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."

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