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There have been moments when Graham Platner<\/a>\u2019s first-time Maine Senate campaign has felt undeniable and moments when it has felt untenable. The oyster farmer and military veteran has outlasted the state\u2019s governor, a veteran Democratic-primary competitor, all while navigating a series of persistent scandals that would\u2019ve likely hobbled the average candidate \u2014 and now, Platner\u2019s Teflon-like reputation is being tested yet again.<\/p>\n On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal<\/a> reported that Amy Gertner, Platner\u2019s wife, disclosed to his campaign that she had discovered sexually explicit text messages to other women on her husband\u2019s phone in 2025, citing sources familiar.\u00a0According to the outlet, Gertner flagged the messages to a campaign aide as staff was conducting an internal vetting of Platner ahead of a scheduled Labor Day weekend rally with Vermont senator Bernie Sanders<\/a>, but the texts were later deemed a personal matter that the couple was addressing in private, a campaign official told the Journal.<\/p>\n A subsequent New York Times<\/a> report provided additional details, revealing that the aide in question was Genevieve McDonald, a former member of the Maine House of Representatives who previously served as the Platner campaign\u2019s political director. McDonald publicly split<\/a> from the campaign in October following the resurfacing of Platner\u2019s past offensive Reddit posts. McDonald told the Times that Gertner said her husband had been texting as many as 12 women while a campaign official put the figure as closer to six, adding that the communication stopped prior to the start of the campaign.<\/p>\n In a statement, Gertner, who has been married to Platner since 2023, indicated that she felt betrayed by McDonald, saying she \u201cconfided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI trusted this person with the most private chapter of our lives \u2014 the early days of our marriage before any campaign was on our mind \u2014 and I am deeply hurt by her betrayal and the invasion of our privacy,\u201d she said, per CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gertner also addressed the coverage of the topic in a direct-to-camera video <\/a>statement shared by the Platner campaign, saying that she finds it \u201creally shameful that there\u2019s a group of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip instead of talking about real issues that Graham is running on, like health care and education and child care.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBeing married is hard. Being newly married is hard,\u201d she said. \u201cBeing newly married and going through infertility is hard. Being newly married, going through infertility and a Senate campaign is hard. I don\u2019t even know if I have the right words to describe what we\u2019ve been going through, but our marriage counselor helps, my personal counselor helps, Graham\u2019s personal counselor helps and we work on our mental health every day.\u201d<\/p>\n She continued, \u201cNo marriage is perfect, and I don\u2019t want a perfect marriage. I want my marriage and I want to be married to Graham.\u201d<\/p>\n The Platner campaign has largely painted the controversy as gossip coming from a disgruntled former staffer. Morris Katz, a strategist working with the Platner campaign, was blunt on social media<\/a>, saying it was \u201cno one\u2019s fucking business\u201d what happened in Platner and Gertner\u2019s marriage prior to their time in the public eye. Katz also appeared to take a shot at McDonald. \u201cThere should be no place in our politics for incompetent, opportunistic operatives who violate privacy, betray trust, and prioritize vengeance over decency,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n Platner briefly addressed the topic to a Maine NBC affiliate<\/a>, saying it was \u201cjournalistic malpractice\u201d for the Journal and the Times to run the story \u201cwithout any evidence besides the gossip from the former staffer.\u201d After many online took Platner\u2019s comments as a denial of the story, the candidate later issued a fuller statement<\/a> through his campaign. \u201cAmy and I went through something hard\u2014because of me. We did the work, and I\u2019m grateful for her every hour of every day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Platner launched his populist campaign last year, raising millions in fundraising and racking up numerous prominent endorsements in his pursuit to take on five-term Republican senator Susan Collins<\/a>. But in that time, he\u2019s faced a variety of scandals including controversial Reddit comments<\/a> where he downplayed sexual assault and made racial remarks as well as a now-covered-up tattoo<\/a> that resembled a totenkopf, a Nazi symbol.\u00a0But the controversies did not appear to leave a mark with Platner expected to cruise to the Democratic nomination following the exit<\/a> of Governor Janet Mills<\/a> from the race in April.<\/p>\n Sign Up for the Intelligencer\u00a0Newsletter<\/p>\n Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n