Maine Democrat Graham Platner’s marital text issue

Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner’s campaign was informed by his wife last summer that he had exchanged explicit text messages with other women, according to current and former campaign officials. The revelation came as his insurgent bid to unseat Republican Senator Susan Collins in Maine was gaining momentum.

Amy Gertner, who married Platner in November 2023, told a senior campaign aide about the messages she discovered in the spring of 2025, early in their marriage. She expressed concern that the behavior could become a political liability, particularly ahead of a high-profile Labor Day rally featuring Senator Bernie Sanders. According to one former campaign official, Gertner indicated the messages were exchanged with as many as a dozen women.

Campaign aides ultimately deemed the matter a private marital issue the couple was addressing through counseling and decided it would not disrupt campaign plans. Gertner provided a statement saying the couple did the hard work that marriage requires, attended counseling, and that their marriage is now stronger than ever.

This report follows other controversies that have emerged since Platner launched his campaign last August. He...