Sexting revelations, wife’s support: Maine Democrat Graham Plant’s rollercoaster campaign

Democrats already face a difficult road to regaining control of the U.S. Senate, and Maine’s race against Sen. Susan Collins is a must-win for the party.

However, reports claim Plattner’s wife was already aware of the text messages and she appeared to support her Marine Corps veteran husband.

Amy Gertner said in a statement on Saturday that she was “deeply hurt” after details of her husband’s messages to other women became public and accused a former campaign official and confidante of betraying her trust.

“I find it shameful that there is a group of media and people willing to spread gossip. There is no perfect marriage and I don’t want a perfect marriage. I want my marriage,” she said In this informal selfie-style video, she walks along the road.

The announcement follows reports in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal that Gertner reported her husband’s sexting with other women to campaign staff shortly after Plattner announced her bid for Senate last year.

Gertner wanted to ensure the texts did not create political liability for the fledgling candidate, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported. Plattner’s campaign ultimately decided the text messages were private and handled by the couple, who will marry in 2023.

Gertner said the two are undergoing counseling.

Although his campaign has been hit by revelations about his past, including his tattoos of what are believed to be swastikas and comments he posted online that disparaged police and white people, CNN reported.

Plattner became the presumptive Democratic nominee after Maine Gov. Janet Mills dropped out in late April, just weeks before the June 9 primary. Mills, who was recruited by national Democratic leaders to run, will remain on the primary list.

While Plattner’s campaign has been exposed for his past behavior, these early developments don’t appear to have dented his support: He led Collins by 9 points in a University of New Hampshire poll released last week.

It’s unclear how news of his extramarital text messages will affect his appeal. Genevieve McDonald, the Platner campaign’s former political director, confirmed to CNN on Saturday that Platner’s wife revealed to her last year that he had sent sexually explicit text messages to multiple women, and the campaign assessed the matter as a potential political liability.

On Saturday, McDonald wrote on Facebook that Plattner’s campaign “demanded” that she retract her remarks to the Journal or his team would accuse her of violating the couple’s trust. That’s when she said she decided to publicly mention her name in the New York Times report.

CNN and other outlets also reported on other statements Plattner made before the campaign. He once called himself a “communist” and dismissed police as “bastards.” He has since denied the comments.

Meanwhile, Sen. Chris Murphy struck a more optimistic tone, telling CBS’s “Face the Nation” that there would be clear differences among voters between Plattner and Collins.

“He certainly admits he made mistakes, but I think there’s a very clear contrast in Maine between a man who has spent his life protecting us and a man who seems to be protecting the corruption of Donald Trump,” the Connecticut Democrat said.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said Sunday he was “concerned” about Plattner.

“That person has questions that need to be answered, and that’s what the campaign is about,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.”