Graham Platner Sexting Scandal

On Saturday, May 30, 2026, Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner’s campaign confirmed he exchanged sexually explicit text messages with multiple women while he was married to Amy Gertner.

Gertner released a statement slamming a former friend for spreading “malicious gossip” in the wake of a report from the Wall Street Journal that she had told her husband’s campaign about the texts in August.

Her statement read: “I confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend. In the months since, I have had to watch as she spread malicious gossip to anyone who would take her call. I trusted this person with the most private chapter of our lives – the early days of our marriage before any campaign was on our mind – and I am deeply hurt by her betrayal and the invasion of our privacy. ”

Gertner did not name the friend; however, Genevieve McDonald, a former senior campaign staff member, shared a screenshot of her text messages with Gertner with The New York Times, and responded by telling Politico that “the Platner campaign confirmed these events occurred.”

McDonald confirmed to CNN on Saturday that Gertner told her about her husband’s sexting with multiple women last year. She added that the campaign evaluated the issue as a potential political liability.

Both The Wall Street Journal and The Times reported that Gertner discovered the messages in the Spring of 2025. She flagged them as Platner’s campaign vetted him internally.

CNN verified that an account with the username “phustle0331,” features a profile picture of a shirtless Platner in a bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, using a similar handle to the ones on his now-deleted Reddit and Instagram accounts.

Gertner is the campaign’s volunteer coordinator. She said the couple’s relationship is “stronger than ever before.”

She added, “We did the hard work that marriage requires. We went to counseling. We were honest with each other in ways that weren’t easy. And we came through it, not in spite of how much we’ve been through, but because of how much we love each other and the life we’ve built.”

Platner Campaign

Last August, Platner launched the start of his campaign, and immediately the oyster farmer saw a rise in his stock. He gained endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders and other progressives, and gained the presumptive Democratic nominee when Maine Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the Senate primary.

In October, CNN reported Platner advocated the use of violence to effect social change, and called himself a “communist” in a Reddit post that has been deleted.

During a podcast later in October, Platner stated he had a Nazi Totenkopf tattoo. The candidate expressed regret and had the tattoo covered, according to a video posted on social media last year.

Gertner says, “I know who Graham is. I know the man I married and the husband he has been to me on the best and the worst days of my life. That hasn’t changed, and it won’t.”

Continued Campaign Support

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif) is a high-profile supporter who reiterated his support in a social media post on Saturday.

“I am proud of @grahamformaine for having the character to stand up against the war in Iran, against genocide, and against an unfair & lopsided economy. I am proud of him for having a vision for a new deal for our time.”

Platner is a Marine Corps veteran with no political experience, and has become a “lightning rod” since he announced his upstart campaign to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Early in his campaign, there was blowback after he revealed the Nazi tattoo on his chest. He got the tattoo in his 20s in the military and did not fully understand its significance until recently, and has since had the tattoo covered.

Reporting from CNN’s KFile undercut Platner’s claim of ignorance concerning the tattoo’s symbolism. In a 2019 social media thread, Platner discussed the emblem – a skull-and-crossbones “Totenkopf” – and noted that many U.S. service members had adopted the imagery.

CNN and other news outlets have reported on statements made before Platner was a candidate for Senate. Once, he called himself a “communist” and police “bastards.” In an interview with CNN, he disavowed these comments.

Sources:

Politico: Platner’s campaign confirms he sent sexual texts to women while married
CNN: Graham Platner’s wife says she’s ‘deeply hurt’ by public revelations of her husband’s extramarital sexts
WGME: Senate candidate Platner’s wife disclosed to campaign explicit texts he sent other women

Featured Image Courtesy of cloud2023’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License