Scandal-hit Graham Platner will face Republican Susan Collins in November’s Senate race
U.S. Marine veteran Graham Platner, who recently covered up a Nazi-style tattoo, has won Maine’s Democratic Senate primary and will face Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November.
Platner, a progressive with no prior political experience, won 75% of the vote, gaining support from left-wing Democrats and attracting large crowds with fiery words, including promises. “overthrow the oligarchy” and accusations that his future opponent is serving “The Epstein Class.” Some Democrats, however, have expressed concern about whether Platner can defeat Collins in light of his many scandals.
Platner, who completed three tours in Iraq with the Marines and another in Afghanistan as a National Guardsman, has long sported the Totenkopf logo — the Nazi skull symbol popularly referenced in “Are we Animals?” Mitchell and Webb skit jokes – he was tattooed on his chest.
The candidate said he did not understand the meaning of the symbol when he got the tattoo in Croatia in 2007 while he was very drunk with his colleagues. He explained as “Skull and crossbones with a horrible appearance,” noting that the National Guard prohibits tattoos that are “extremist, racist, sexist, or otherwise disrespectful.”
CNN: “(Graham) Platner referred to (his tattoo) as ‘my Totenkopf,’ which is a reference to the skull and crossbones used by Nazi SS units years before the controversy became public.” pic.twitter.com/maQ6FnoEDM
RNC Research (@RNCRsearch) June 5, 2026
In October 2025, Platner covered the tattoo with a different design – a Celtic knot with a wolf-like creature that some suggested resembles Fenrir, the wolf from Norse mythology. Critics have claimed that Nordic-inspired imagery is also popular among some far-right and white extremist groups.
“If I had the impression that it was a symbol associated with that ideology, I wouldn’t have a life to photograph myself,” said Platner, who describes himself as anti-fascist.
The Democrat faced accusations of anti-Semitism after he refused to accept donations from the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC as a campaign center. Collins, who is openly pro-Israel, collected about 20% of his war chest from AIPAC, according to media estimates.
Platner has also been criticized for past online posts in which he used homophobic slurs and said that victims of sexual harassment in the military should “Act like an adult” and avoid getting “he’s turned off.” He later apologized and attributed the comments to a struggle with PTSD.
Earlier this month, reports emerged that Platner had sent sex messages to multiple women while they were married.
US President Donald Trump has endorsed Collins and named Platner a “Thug” who was “worse than any human being who has ever run for office.”
Trump’s approval rating remains near the lowest level of his political career as the campaign is dominated by concerns about the cost of living, rising energy prices, and an unpopular war with Iran.
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