Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is endorsing Graham Platner in Maine’s Democratic Senate primary following Gov. Janet Mills’ decision to suspend her campaign Thursday, clearing the path for the 41-year-old oyster farmer to challenge five-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins in November.
Mills, a two-term governor and former Maine attorney general, announced she lacked “the financial resources” to continue her campaign, despite having secured Schumer’s backing and support from prominent Democratic groups including EMILYs List and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund when she entered the race last year.
Platner, a Marine veteran and grandson of modernist architect Warren Platner, has emerged as the Democratic frontrunner despite polling significantly ahead of Mills among primary voters. He is also backed by Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Ruben Gallego, and Martin Heinrich.
However, Platner’s campaign has been marked by controversy. A prominent skull-and-crossbones tattoo resembling the Nazi SS “Totenkopf” emblem on his chest drew scrutiny after he announced his candidacy. Platner said he obtained the tattoo in 2007 during a drunken outing while on leave in Croatia and was unaware of its fascist associations. He covered it with a Celtic knot tattoo featuring a jumping dog in November, after the tattoo was publicized.
The tattoo controversy has not deterred Schumer, who is Jewish and has often referred to himself as a “Shomer Yisroel”, from supporting Platner’s candidacy. Democrats view the Maine seat as their best opportunity for a pickup in November’s midterms, with Collins being the only Republican representing any of the six New England states in the House or Senate. So hey, what’s a Nazi tattoo if Democrats can pick up a Senate seat, right?
“In November Susan Collins, a proven leader with an indisputable record of delivering for Maine, will face a Nazi sympathizing self-proclaimed communist with a record of hate-mongering and dishonesty,” RNC spokesperson Kristen Ciani said in response to Platner’s emergence as the likely Democratic nominee.
Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats to claim a majority in the chamber.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
