Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and former US marine, exchanged sexually explicit text messages with other women during his marriage, according to reports from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. His wife, Amy Gertner, confirmed the texts were discovered last year and shared with his campaign.
Wife Confirms Details
In a statement released by Platner's campaign, Gertner said she was "deeply hurt" that the campaign's former political director, Genevieve McDonald, disclosed the private messages to reporters. "I confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend," Gertner said. She added that the couple sought counseling and emerged stronger: "Our marriage today is stronger than ever before."
Campaign Context
Platner is the presumptive Democratic nominee for the US Senate after his main competitor, Janet Mills, suspended her campaign last month. He is aiming to unseat five-term Republican Senator Susan Collins. His campaign has drawn progressive attention but also faced controversy over past racist, sexist, and homophobic online posts, as well as a tattoo of a Totenkopf, a Nazi symbol, which he has since covered up.
McDonald, who resigned in October after details of Platner's tattoo and social media posts emerged, told the New York Times: "The United States Senate is not a training ground for redemption. It is a place for proven leaders with moral clarity and integrity."
Opposition Research
After Platner launched his campaign in August 2024 with a rally alongside Senator Bernie Sanders, his team conducted opposition research. Gertner shared the explicit texts with McDonald in the spring of 2025. Campaign aides decided the matter was private, but McDonald later disclosed it to reporters.
Kik Account
According to the Wall Street Journal, Platner has an active account on Kik, a private messaging platform sometimes used for sexting, under the username phustle0331. The profile includes a mirror selfie of a shirtless man with tattoos matching those on Platner's arms.
Platner previously told the New Yorker that he met Gertner, an art teacher, through friends and later matched on the dating app Bumble.
