Graham Platner shouldn't be elected to represent Maine in the U.S.Senate, a former high-level staffer for the embattled Democratic candidate told voters just hours before polls opened in the state's Tuesday primary.Genevieve McDonald, once a Maine state representative who worked briefly as Platner's campaign director last year, warned in an op/ed in The Washington Post on Monday evening: "Graham Platner is not someone who would be good for Maine or for the country."While she overlooked his Nazi-linked tattoo and possible cheating scandal, McDonald said in the piece titled "I know firsthand why Graham Platner shouldn't be a U.S.
senator" that she couldn't ignore how "he exhibits a pattern of dishonest behavior," and ultimately quit the campaign after just two months."I was one of the Platner campaign’s first gaslighting casualties," she wrote.Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner has campaigned on progressive economic policies focused on taxing billionaires and lowering costs for working-class Americans.(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)McDonald said she was "disturbed" by what she learned during her time on his staff from August to October 2025."If America wants a stronger democracy, elevating leaders with integrity is essential," she wrote in the opinion piece.
"Leaders with sound judgment and ethics.Leaders who embrace and live the ideals the nation stands for."THE GROWING LIST OF CONTROVERSIES THREATENING DEMOCRAT GRAHAM PLATNER'S MAINE SENATE BIDMcDonald complained about the series of skeletons that emerged, including the Nazi-linked tattoo on his chest, recent allegations of physical misconduct with an ex-girlfriend and lewd Reddit posts that have rocked his campaign.She specifically took issue with one Reddit post where Platner said white, rural Americans are 'racist' and 'stupid.' The demographic he attacked is the one in which he is now hoping to represent in the U.S.
Senate.McDonald also slammed the campaign's "feigned ignorance" of the significance of the tatt...