PORTLAND, Maine – Just how well is Graham Platner’s campaign going?
That question has become harder to ignore as the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate continues to face mounting scrutiny over a string of controversies, awkward campaign moments, and growing questions about whether his campaign is beginning to unravel.
The latest issue came after Platner’s wife appeared in a campaign video that critics quickly described as rambling, inaccurate, and ineffective. Rather than steadying the campaign, the video appeared to raise more questions about why the campaign felt the need to put her forward in the first place.
The video comes as Platner continues to face scrutiny over his presence on Kik, a platform that has long drawn controversy over child exploitation concerns. It also follows continued national attention on Platner’s past Reddit posts, which have become recurring talking points in coverage of his campaign.
The problems have not stopped there.
Supporters have begun pulling up Platner campaign signs, while some national political figures who previously endorsed him have started removing their public posts of support. You are starting to hear Democrat leaders say, we might have a problem with this guy.
But perhaps the most revealing moment came Sunday, when Platner appeared unwilling to take questions from The Maine Wire at his own campaign rally, which he held with Shenna Bellows, in Deering Park in Portland. The event was very poorly attended.
Instead of facing basic questions, Platner was shielded by a group of supporters, better described as Karens in yellow vests and masks, who formed a wall around him as he moved through the park and raced to his car. At one point, a grown man in a brown bear suit appeared to run cover for the candidate.
For a campaign trying to project strength, the optics were difficult to ignore.
A candidate who cannot answer questions from the press, who needs supporters to physically block reporters, and whose campaign is increasingly defined by past online behavior, awkward damage control, and vanishing support is not showing momentum.
He is showing signs of spiraling.
At some point, Platner may need to put down the video games, stay off the phone, step away from the online controversies, the creepy websites and out of the porta potties, and start writing the only campaign speech that now seems appropriate.
A resignation speech.
It may be time.
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