OGUNQUIT, Maine — Within days of the New York Times trawling through Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner’s volatile past relationships, the campaign’s latest flyer, prominently displaying a supporter waving a “Women for Graham” sign, arrived in voters’ mailboxes.Platner had been coasting to a win in Tuesday’s primary, with his opponent for the Democratic nomination, Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) seemingly having thrown in the towel.A raft of allegations by former girlfriends has upended the campaign, with polls showing Platner’s lead over the Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) plunging.
There has been little respite in recent days with controversy still swirling over former girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield’s graphic account of their relationship, including allegations he could be physically aggressive — allegations Platner denied.
For a sparsely populated state with only four votes in the Electoral College, Maine punches above its weight politically, which is reflected in the $300 million spent already by the campaigns and dark money Political Action Committees.
Speaking to voters over the weekend from the picturesque resort town of Ogunquit, the Washington Examiner found an air of unease among some, in one case downright hostility, and in others defiant support.
