Politics

Some Maine Democrats are wavering on Graham Platner

Published

4 months ago

June 9, 2026

PORTLAND, Maine — Darcy Halvorsen, 59, had already cast her ballot early for Graham Platner in Maine’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary when she read news of sexual text messages the oysterman had sent while married to a woman who wasn’t his wife.

Halvorsen, who described herself as a Platner skeptic-turned-fan, is back to being a skeptic. As she attended a town hall of his at the Elks Lodge in Portland on Sunday — at least her eighth Platner event since last fall — she was regretting the vote.

“I’m feeling very let down, disappointed,” she said. “Because I don’t think it was handled well. I don’t think he took responsibility for it.”

Platner’s continued drumbeat of scandals has divided both Democratic Party leaders and voters as they stare down the must-win Senate race. Defeating Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November is crucial to the party’s plans to take back control of the upper chamber and provide a check on President Donald Trump. But even as Platner’s staunch supporters stick with him, his political baggage is threatening to sink him with some Democratic and independent voters heading into the general election, according to interviews with nearly two dozen Maine voters.

Several Democratic voters were hesitant to weigh in on the Senate race, saying they felt Platner’s candidacy was all but certain at this point and sharing their opinion on him was likely to be met with backlash. Others who were planning to vote Democratic in November are now toying with backing Collins or sitting out the Senate race entirely — a challenge for the likely nominee and his party.

Peter and Kelly Dufour were manning the grill at a Get-Out-the-Vote event for gubernatorial candidate Hannah Pingree in Portland on Saturday and excited about the former Democratic state House speaker’s candidacy for governor. Asked about the Senate race, Kelly put her head in her hands.

The pair were looking to learn more about David Costello, who was Democratic Senate nominee in 2024 and is running in the primary again this year — the only Democrat candidate on the ballot besides Platner and Gov. Janet Mills, who suspended her campaign in April.

Peter said he was “disappointed” by Collins’ votes in the past few years, particularly to confirm judges, but he’s “torn” over giving up her prime seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee for Platner.

“I want someone of good moral character to be my senator,” he said, describing himself as 50-50 on the race right now.

Kelly said she wasn’t sure if she was 50-50 anymore in light of the latest Platner news.

With Platner, she said, “it just seems like one thing after another.”

Platner and his allies have attributed his past poor conduct to his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use after leaving the military. He has said he found community after moving back to Maine and asked voters to judge him on who he is now. But some Maine voters are still skeptical of his story of redemption.

Kathy Bonk, a Brooksville resident and president of the Maine chapter of the National Organization of Women, plans to vote for Mills in Tuesday’s primary, though she expects Platner to prevail.

“There’s been a lot of press coverage about, ‘Well, we’ll let Maine voters decide.’ The Maine Democratic voters are going to decide the primary, but then you put that question to all Maine voters in the general,” she said. “I just think there’s a number of people that after everything that’s come out on Platner just can’t bring themselves to vote for Platner.”

Some Democrats are hoping that a poor showing from Platner in Tuesday’s primary would help them convince him to step aside and allow the state party to replace him with another candidate. But the idea seemed fairly ludicrous to most voters in Maine, given not only Platner’s record of surviving scandals but also his strong base of supporters — many of whom see his controversies as outside attacks on his movement that have only hardened their resolve for him.

“Mainers don’t want to see one of their own cut down at the knees,” said Constantine Dixon, a 36-year-old from Portland who attended the Sunday town hall for Platner.

Platner has inspired many Maine voters in a way few other candidates have in the state’s recent political history, drawing massive crowds like few in the state have seen and going from an unknown oysterman to consistently leading the sitting governor in primary polls. Many of his backers brush off his recent controversies as less important than the issues he is running on: universal health care, getting money out of politics, and making the state affordable for working people.

He has maintained support from lawmakers like Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) rallied with him in Bar Harbor on Friday, and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), in his first public display of support, hosted a virtual fundraiser for him on Sunday.

“Since this campaign launched, we have been and remain deeply humbled by the support and loyalty of this movement,” Ben Chin, Platner’s campaign manager, said in a statement. “Mainers know Graham, they understand what he stands for, and they believe in what this campaign is fighting for. Lifting people up and fighting for working Mainers has been and always will be our priority.”

Days after reports of the extramarital sexting, the New York Times published accounts of several of Platner’s ex-girlfriends who recalled disturbing patterns of behavior. One woman alleged that he had grabbed her in ways that left marks and once locked her in a room.

Platner’s campaign acknowledged he sent sexual text messages to other women while married, but had already addressed the issue with his wife. He admitted to being a “bad boyfriend” in past relationships but said he had never been violent.

At the town hall in Portland on Sunday, Platner was received enthusiastically by hundreds of supporters. Some attendees said they showed up specifically to indicate their support for him after a difficult week.

Charlotte Brown, an unenrolled voter, said she had supported Collins until the senator’s vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In Platner, she finally found a politician who “represented us.”

“We wanted to come to stand up for him with all the attacks,” she said. “We wanted him to know that we have his back.”

Platner’s supporters, which include many older women who make up the core of the Democratic Party in Maine, largely don’t condone his past behavior — but they believe in his personal growth.

“What happened in his personal life was a long time ago,” said Janet Miles, an Air Force veteran attending an event for Pingree over the weekend. “People change. Do I approve of the things he did? Definitely not. If he did all those things a week ago, that would be different.”

“I was really upset when I heard his comments about women drinking and rape,” said Cathy Walter, a retiree from Gorham, Maine, referencing Platner’s Reddit history that was uncovered last fall. In posts more than a decade ago, Platner had written that sexual assault victims should take responsibility and avoid alcohol so as not to end up in a “compromising situation.”

But Walter appreciated how Platner owned up to his past conduct and said what happened “does not disqualify him.” She’s taking cues from national leaders on whether he can still beat Collins in November.

“I’m watching, what is Bernie Sanders saying? What is Elizabeth Warren saying?” Walter said. “They would be pulling their support if he couldn’t get elected.”

Platner’s political rise has captivated the state since his campaign launch last August. News reports about his old social media posts and a tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol did not meaningfully slow his momentum. Mills, who was recruited for the race by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, ended up suspending her campaign at the end of April, as Platner continued to lead her in fundraising and public polls.

Mills has not endorsed Platner, and some of his skeptics are planning to vote for her in the primary. The governor hasn’t publicly remarked on the race other than reminding a Maine Trust for Local News columnist a week ago that she remains on the ballot.

Mills campaign signs still dotted Portland neighborhoods this weekend. In Portland’s Back Bay, one sign was improvisationally stapled to a wooden post. Written by hand in blue marker was a reminder for passersby: “She’s still in! Vote!”

National Republicans have been gearing up for a general election battle against Platner for months, with the pro-Collins super PAC Pine Tree Results launching ads last month that focused on Platner’s Reddit comments and tattoo. In the aftermath of the recent controversies, Collins told reporters in Maine on Friday that Platner had “a lot of questions to answer.”

Halvorsen, the former Platner fan who was frustrated with his recent scandals, said she could not remember seeing Maine Democrats so at odds over something — and she recalled many contested primaries in the state. On social media, she said, she’d faced attacks for being a Platner skeptic, attacks for being a fan, and now attacks for being ambivalent about him.

“Trump wants us to be divided,” she said. “And that’s what’s happening in Maine.”

Politics

Poll: Voters see Republicans as the party of Big Tech tax breaks

Published

38 minutes ago

October 20, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Americans are fed up with data centers and Big Tech, and Republicans are poised to take more of the political blame in the Nov. 3 midterms.

The Blue Light News Poll found last week that Americans were far more likely to associate the GOP with giving tax incentives to tech companies at a time when the public’s concerns about artificial intelligence and data center sprawl are only deepening.

Nearly half of respondents — 47% — called Republicans the party of tech tax breaks, more than double the 21% who said the same for Democrats.

Voters are also far more likely to want candidates who propose stripping away tax incentives for the data centers needed to fuel the AI boom, according to the new poll, conducted by PF Global.

About a fifth of respondents said that ending those tax breaks would be among their most important tax issues in the midterms, while only 1 in 10 wanted to offer new preferences for data centers.

The top tax priorities for voters, according to the poll, are hiking taxes on billionaires and curbing breaks for big companies.

The findings come as lawmakers in both parties have scrambled to respond to the growing voter concerns over AI and data centers — and as Americans increasingly associate Silicon Valley titans with the Republican Party.

But in both Democratic and Republican-led states alike, governors have sought to put new limits on tax incentives that were already approved for data centers.

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) rolled out a proposal last week that would take that a step further by imposing a 100% tax on any state or local incentive offered to AI data centers.

But it’s Democrats who have gone more on the offensive about the issue.

Former Sen. Sherrod Brown, for instance, has made data center incentives a key issue as he tries to unseat Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), a former state lawmaker and lieutenant governor.

“Jon Husted’s ‘deals’ gave wealthy tech companies a windfall and left Ohioans footing the bill,” Brown recently posted on social media.

Democrats have specifically homed in on Meta, which has cut its tax liability in recent years by billions of dollars as it builds out its AI products. And they have sought to tie expanded tax breaks approved by Republicans in last year’s megabill to the increase in data center construction.

The GOP enacted incentives for companies in a broad array of industries as part of the 2025 tax cuts. But Big Tech has found those tax breaks particularly useful, helping to drive a big decrease in corporate tax payments as AI spending keeps trending upward.

Meanwhile, Democrats with 2028 ambitions have floated new taxes on AI companies, while Democratic lawmakers have teed up legislation that would keep data centers from taking advantage of incentives like Opportunity Zones and bonus depreciation, both of which Republicans expanded in 2025.

In fact, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) recently gave last year’s megabill another new name in a recent debate with his opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.).

“I want to know if you will commit to voting to repeal that data center tax scam that you voted for,” Ossoff said.

It’s not clear how much the current anti-AI energy will lead to new legislative limits in the coming months. But the new poll found Americans have a real fear of the unknown with artificial intelligence.

A majority of respondents said that tech chief executives had been secretive about the potential risks of AI, while a plurality of Americans believe both that the risks of artificial intelligence development outweigh the benefits and that the government should strictly regulate the emerging technology.

Politics

Two Dans, four choices, one big headache for GOP in Alaska Senate race

Published

3 hours ago

October 20, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

ANCHORAGE — Alaska Republicans have railed for years against ranked-choice voting. Now some worry it could cost them in a critical Senate race.

GOP Sen. Dan S. Sullivan is facing not only well-known former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola in the four-way general-election field, but a same-name challenger who Republicans think could siphon votes from him in the close contest.

Some GOP operatives fear the senator will lose first-choice votes to retired teacher Dan J. Sullivan Jr. — and that supporters of his longshot rival might not rank the incumbent at all in the state’s unusual election system where voters can pick backup options that get counted if no candidate clears 50% of the initial vote. Two recent polls that simulated ranked-choice tabulations showed Peltola as the victor.

Art Hackney, a Sullivan ally who runs a super PAC boosting the senator, said Dan J. Sullivan is “going to get a percent of the vote” and warned it could be “potentially” be “significant in terms of impacting” the result of the race.

“Sullivan can win … but it makes it a heck of a lot harder,” added a Republican operative working on other Alaska races. “It’s what the race is going to come down to: If he loses, it’ll for sure be because of that. And if he wins, it’ll be in spite of that.”

Republicans have for years bemoaned the system that allows voters to rank their preference and eliminates candidates until one reaches a majority as “costly” and “confusing,” and argue it has undercut their party. Top Republicans like outgoing GOP Gov. Mike Dunleavy and President Donald Trump have urged voters to repeal the system via a ballot measure this fall after a previous effort failed two years ago.

“Even if he gets a percent or 2% or 3% percent with the phony ranked choice stuff, you never know what they’re going to do with it,” Trump said of Dan J. Sullivan in a rally in Wasilla last week, adding that it “could be the difference.”

It’s happened before: Peltola benefitted in her House win from a split GOP field, while Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) warded off a Trump-backed challenger in 2022 partly because of ranked-choice voting. Alaska Republicans are also fretting about the governor’s race this year, where three GOP candidates are competing, urging voters to “rank the red.”

Dan J. Sullivan, Heikes and Peltola’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

The similarly named Sullivans are separated on the ballot by their middle initials and party affiliation (the incumbent is listed as a Republican, the challenger without a party).

But the senator and his allies aren’t taking any chances.

They’re employing several of the tactics Murkowski used during her successful 2010 write-in campaign, including giving out rubber wristbands branded with the senator’s name and party affiliation, and airing a radio jingle with the NRSC.

“Dan S. is your No. 1,” the jingle goes. “If he’s not, rank him second, don’t throw your vote away. Dan S., Daniel, Gerry — just don’t rank Mary.”

“Dan S. Sullivan has two opponents in this race: Democrat Mary Peltola, and the ranked choice system she and her allies have deceptively manipulated to her advantage,” said Nate Adams, a spokesperson for the senator. “But our campaign is confident that Alaskans aren’t confused. They know the real Dan, and we’re making sure every voter can find him: ballot facsimiles on every mailer, voters reached at the door and on the phone, and even a jingle.”

Those pushing to keep ranked-choice voting in Alaska argue the system helps mitigate the so-called spoiler effect. The group behind this year’s repeal measure said in an email that it’s a nonpartisan effort focused solely on eliminating the system.

Outside GOP groups boosting Sullivan like Americans for Prosperity Action and Club for Growth Action have been urging voters at doors and via mailers to rank the incumbent first, a slightly different approach than Sullivan’s campaign. “Make Republican Incumbent DAN S. SULLIVAN your 1ST CHOICE and ONLY CHOICE,” read one Club for Growth Action mailer seen by Blue Light News, a slightly different approach than Sullivan’s campaign.

“In a tight election, it doesn’t take a ton of people to get confused to possibly change the trajectory and the outcome,” said Kevin Greene, senior adviser for AFP Action in Alaska.

A version of this article first appeared in Blue Light News Pro’s Morning Score. Want to receive the newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to Blue Light News Pro.