Democratic operatives commissioned a brief and low-cost background check on Graham Platner before launching his Senate campaign, a decision that is now backfiring as a rape allegation and other controversies engulf the candidate, leading to calls from within his own party for him to exit the race. The vetting process, which typically takes weeks and costs tens of thousands of dollars, was completed in just three days for Platner at a cost of $6,250, according to sources familiar with the matter. Democratic strategist Dan Moraff, a top Platner staffer, paid for the check, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Vetting is standard practice in high-stakes elections to ensure candidates do not carry personal baggage that could derail their campaigns. In Platner's case, the brief risk-assessment memo did flag some controversial items, but it missed others that have since become public. Among the issues that have surfaced are a rape allegation from a former girlfriend, separate allegations of abusive behavior from another ex-partner, a Nazi-linked tattoo Platner got during his time in the Marine Corps, and sexually explicit texts he sent to other women while married. Platner denies the rape allegation and the abuse claims.
The background check also uncovered some of Platner's now-deleted Reddit posts, but not all of them. In those posts, Platner denigrated members of the U.S. armed forces, including stating that one wounded veteran deserved to die due to his conduct under fire. He also made comments alluding to familiarity with prostitution and hard drugs, expressed support for political violence, and advocated for socialism. Platner has since apologized for the posts, attributing them to psychological trauma from his military service and the gruff culture of being an infantryman.
Moraff told the Wall Street Journal that when he was shown the posts, he told Platner: «None of this will or should stop you from becoming a US senator.» Moraff added: «If what the voters wanted were people who were grown in vats and had never done or said anything that they might regret their entire lives, we'd have a very different country. Part of our thesis here is that people do not want their candidates grown in vats. They want people who are real human beings and they want people who do not look and sound like the lab grown people who've been leading this country off a cliff.»
A Platner campaign official told the Wall Street Journal that the campaign lacked the resources to pay for a more thorough vetting and argued that even a more robust check would not have turned up additional useful information. The background check did not include interviews or require Platner to fill out a questionnaire, according to the report. The campaign's limited vetting has drawn criticism as the allegations have mounted.
Several prominent Democrats have rescinded their endorsements of Platner, but he has so far resisted calls to drop out of the race. If Platner ends his campaign before July 13, Democrats could find someone to replace him on the ballot. In a video denying the rape allegation on Monday, Platner said: «So, regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins. Those were the goals when we launched this campaign, and they remain my goals today.»
The New York Post reported Tuesday, citing sources, that Platner was refusing to drop out unless he could help choose his replacement. The Platner campaign did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. The controversy has thrown the Maine Senate race into turmoil, with Democrats scrambling to contain the damage as the primary approaches. The rushed vetting process has become a focal point of criticism, highlighting the risks of cutting corners in candidate screening.