Representative Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) stirred the Maine Senate race on Tuesday by urging Democratic primary front-runner Graham Platner to win the nomination and then immediately withdraw, allowing the party to field a stronger candidate against incumbent Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine). The race is pivotal for control of the Senate, and Platner’s campaign has been roiled by a series of damaging revelations.
“I think that he’s going to get off the ballot soon,” Gottheimer said on CNN’s “News Central.” He pointed to a former top aide’s public call for Democrats to reject Platner, writing in The Washington Post that the party was being sold a false narrative. “The issues are just going to keep piling up,” Gottheimer added.
Platner’s campaign has been under siege for weeks. In October, he acknowledged covering up a tattoo after learning it resembled a Nazi symbol, claiming he only realized the resemblance when reporters and “DC insiders” pointed it out. More recently, The New York Times reported on sexually explicit messages he sent to women while married, and several former girlfriends described him as physically rough. Platner denied parts of that story, suggesting political motives behind one accuser.
Gottheimer did not mince words: “If this were in Jersey, and you had a candidate who abused women, obviously, and has a Nazi tattoo that now, it’s clear that he knew it was a Nazi tattoo, not to mention many of his other lies and his comments.” The congressman argued that Platner should let the Maine Democratic Party install a replacement, given that Governor Janet Mills suspended her own campaign as Platner surged in polls.
Maine’s primary is Tuesday, and Platner is expected to win easily with no active challenger. But the general election battle against Collins, a four-term incumbent, is considered a top-tier contest for Senate control. The scandal has exposed deep partisan divides over how to handle abuse allegations within the party.
Former state Representative Genevieve McDonald, who served as Platner’s political director until October 2025, wrote in The Post that “Democrats are being sold a narrative that Platner is the only choice.” She urged primary voters to consider alternatives, though none are actively campaigning. Gottheimer echoed that sentiment, saying Platner should “get off the ballot and let another Democrat step in.”
The Hill has reached out to Platner’s campaign for comment. As the primary unfolds, the Maine and South Carolina primaries are testing broader political dynamics, with Platner’s fate hanging in the balance.
