Graham Platner thinks Democratic voters will overlook his past to support a new type of candidate

ELLSWORTH, Maine (AP) — In another world, revelations of problematic social media posts, a tattoo closely resembling a Nazi symbol and a sudden turnover in campaign staffers would have been enough to sink any political candidate.

But Graham Platner , a Democrat looking to flip a Maine U.S. Senate seat in a key 2026 contest, isn’t stepping aside.

A plain-speaking oyster farmer and combat veteran, Platner has been open about mistakes he says he made in the past and his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. He believes voters want to see new Democratic faces who will fight for them, and he’s betting that the old rules of politics — with highly vetted candidates and an emphasis on propriety — no longer apply.

There’s reason to believe he may be right. Republican Donald Trump was