Sara Golaski says she is horrified by President Trump’s second term, and that it is “very important” to her that Democrats win back the Senate in the midterm elections.
But Ms. Golaski, a Democrat from Bristol, Maine, says she does not think she will vote for Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic Senate nominee, and will sit out the November election. She said she was “disgusted” by inflammatory messages he once posted online about women and by reports about his treatment of past girlfriends.
“I’m incredibly disheartened that we don’t have better options,” Ms. Golaski, 35, said. One of her chief concerns with the Republican Party was its positions on women, she said, adding that she would not support a “Democrat with a similar negative view of women.”
With one day until the primary in Maine, Democrats and others are feeling a complex mix of emotions across a state that could decide control of the Senate in November, interviews with more than 30 people show. Many Democrats here say they’re unconcerned by reports about Mr. Platner’s personal history, dismissing them as distractions from more pressing matters. They say that they’re thrilled to see a political outsider like Mr. Platner, an oysterman, on the ballot, and that they’re inspired by his progressive message. And the prospect of handing another term to Senator Susan M. Collins, a Republican, does not sit well with them.
But even some staunch Democrats have grown uneasy with his candidacy. And some fierce supporters acknowledge that they are anxious about how recent revelations could affect his efforts to beat Ms. Collins, a moderate Republican with an established brand. In a race that could be decided on the margins, Democrats cannot afford to lose many voters like Ms. Golaski.
On Thursday, The New York Times reported that three women who had been romantically involved with Mr. Platner described volatile and “toxic” relationships. They said he could be demeaning to women and, in at least one case, even physically threatening. Mr. Platner “strongly disputes” any claims of physical intimidation or altercations, his campaign has said.
“I do think it will affect a lot of women, unfortunately,” Heidi Aube, a 55-year-old former nursing home activity director, said as she sat at a picnic table on a cobblestone street in downtown Portland.
Still, Ms. Aube said she felt Mr. Platner’s history was being subjected to excessive scrutiny. “I’m OK with it,” she said of his past, adding that everyone makes mistakes. “I think he’s great.”
Independent voters, who could swing the November election, offered differing takes. More than 100 miles northeast of Portland at a trash disposal station in coastal Castine, Fred Doane, 70, dismissed any reports about Mr. Platner’s personal life as “gossip.” But Joe Condon, a 31-year-old lobsterman from Deer Isle, said the allegations would weigh on his vote.
“It shows a lot about somebody,” Mr. Condon said, describing himself as undecided but expressing skepticism about Mr. Platner. “I don’t see why he would stay in the race. Seems like everything is against him.”
Mr. Platner, who has drawn large crowds of enthusiastic supporters, has weathered earlier political storms and emerged in a stronger position. After news reports last year about his trail of online messages and a tattoo he had resembling a Nazi symbol that he later had covered up, Mr. Platner solidified his advantage over Gov. Janet Mills, eventually forcing her from the Democratic race.
Ms. Mills is still on the ballot after suspending her campaign, and some said they planned to support her, even though she is not actively running. But Mr. Platner is widely expected to win the nomination and advance to a race against Ms. Collins, who does not have a primary challenger.
Mr. Platner’s campaign manager, Ben Chin, said in a statement on Sunday, “Mainers know Graham, they understand what he stands for, and they believe in what this campaign is fighting for.
“Lifting people up and fighting for working Mainers has been and always will be our priority,” Mr. Chin added.
At the Farmers’ Market in Blue Hill, on a peninsula tucked between popular tourist destinations, Anna Bradford, a 24-year-old Democrat, was selling produce on Saturday and contemplating the critical accounts from Mr. Platner’s ex-girlfriends. She said she planned to vote for Mr. Platner, citing shared values around labor rights. Even so, she said she would cast her vote with a measure of “trepidation.”
“He’s got to step up, take accountability and has to do these promises in an appropriate amount of time,” Ms. Bradford said. “And by appropriate, I mean instantly.”
Mr. Platner, a Marine veteran, has acknowledged “not exactly acting with the best behavior” during a “dark period” after his military service. He has also said that he is horrified by old online posts — surfaced earlier in the campaign — in which he suggested that women worried about rape should not get so drunk that “they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to.”
Keith Smith, 67, a Democrat who lives on Moosehead Lake in the northwestern part of the state, said he voted early for Mr. Platner. He dismissed the accusations and praised Mr. Platner’s fiery brand of progressive politics.
“People are sick of the Democratic Party playing nice and rolling over. They want us to fight back,” Mr. Smith, a retired state employee, said. “That’s one of the appealing things about Platner. He’s going to do that.”
Others felt more conflicted. Esker Park, 66, a Democrat, said that Mr. Platner’s comments about rape were “important” and that she considers his ex-girlfriends’ accounts to be “pretty bad.” Still, she said she had cast an early vote for Mr. Platner in the primary, and had planned to vote for him in November. It is of the “utmost importance” to her that Democrats win a majority in the Senate, she said, and she viewed him as a better option than Ms. Collins in any event.
“I believe that Graham Platner has a lot of learning that he has done in his life, and he is continuing to do some learning,” Ms. Park said as she shopped in the Maine Mall in South Portland. “Do I think that it is enough for him to be a stellar senator right now? Nope. But he is on a very steep learning curve, and I am very hopeful that he will get there.”
Outside the mall, Cray Wunder, a 33-year-old designer who described himself as a progressive Democrat, said he had sometimes withheld his vote in elections when he felt his party was not running compelling candidates.
But Mr. Wunder said this year he felt inspired by Mr. Platner’s progressive platform. And Mr. Wunder was frustrated, he said, that some Democrats appeared resistant to get behind the candidate.
“It’s a choice between him and Susan Collins,” he said. “So I don’t even know why this is really a discussion.”
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