Several women who previously dated Graham Platner have described “unsettling” and controversial behavior by the Democrat looking to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
The New York Times profiled several women who shared a romantic past with Platner, further piling onto the controversies that have plagued the candidate since discussions about his Nazi tattoo. In one interview, conservative commentator Lyndsey Fifield, who dated Platner between 2013 and 2015, said that he would often be rough with her while discussing violence, clarifying that he never physically assaulted her.
“He said this a lot: If anybody ever broke in here, I would rape them,” Fifield told the outlet.
She also alleged that Platner once handled an argument between them by twisting “her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom and held the door closed from the other side so she couldn’t get out, telling her to remain there until she was ‘calm.’”
Regarding his Nazi tattoo, Fifield also expressed doubt as to Platner’s claims of being ignorant of its meaning, saying that he would sometimes describe it as “my Totenkopf.” Jewish Insider previously reported that a former acquaintance described him using that term.
While the Platner campaign did not deny making those remarks to Fifield, it strongly disputed accusations of physical intimidation.
At least two other women who dated Platner said he would engage in “patterns of heavy drinking and womanizing.” Maine Democrat Jenny Raciot, for instance, described his behavior as “reckless” and “unsettling” during their relationship between 2019 and 2021.
The New York Times did, however, interview other women who described more positive experiences with Platner during their relationship with him.
In a statement, Platner said that he had “too often self medicated with alcohol, and was far from a perfect boyfriend” during “a very dark period of my life.”
“I take responsibility for all of that, and wish I had been better,” he told the outlet. “Any characterization beyond that is false, and I believe, politically motivated. I’m not proud of who I was then, but I am proud of the work I’ve done since, and the movement we are building in Maine.”
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