With Maine's Democratic Senate primary one day away. voters tell Fox News they're divided over whether Graham Platner's controversies are disqualifying or overblown.
Polls have closed in Maine, which along with South Carolina, Nebraska and North Dakota are holding primary elections on Tuesday.
And the race grabbing the biggest national spotlight is in Maine. where it's judgment day for Graham Platner, the embattled Democratic Senate candidate in left-leaning Maine who is aiming to oust longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in a crucial race that's among a handful. will determine if the GOP holds its slim Senate majority in themidterm elections.
Platner, an oyster farmer and military combat veteran who is backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. other top progressive champions, is facing a slew of controversies, which could make his expected Democratic primary victory in Maine much more interesting than originally expected.
Meanwhile, one week after PresidentDonald Trump's endorsement-winning streak in high-profile Republican primaries was snapped, the president's immense clout over his party is facing another key test in South Carolina's GOP gubernatorial. Senate nomination races.
PLATNER TO SUPPORTERS: 'MAINE, YOU HAVE MY BACK'
Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks to an overflow crowd outside a campaign event Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine.(Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo)
Platner has been playing defense for the past month, amid mounting controversy. It includes inflammatory online comments made on Reddit, a well-publicized. now covered-up tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol, recent reports that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women while married and new allegations last week from ex-girlfriends of a history of rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent episodes. Platner has called the latest allegations of violence untrue.
The negative headlines have triggered some Democrats in the nation's capital to question whether Platner was damaged goods. The candidate this past weekend thankedMaine votersfor continuing to support him.
"When hurtful things I said on the internet a decade ago came out into the public, as I shared my personal journey through PTSD. darkness of recovery and accountability and growth, Maine had my back," Platner said at a rally Friday not far from his hometown in Down East, Maine.
"Now, as every single piece of that past and journey gets dug up, litigated, and weaponized, you have my back. And when politically motivated, serious and false accusations are made against me. Maine, you have my back."
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Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks to supporters at a rally in Bar Harbor. Maine, on June 5, 2026.(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
Platner, who has acknowledged his battle with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from his three tours of duty in the war in Iraq with the Marines. one tour with the Army National Guard in Afghanistan, apologized for his controversial Reddit posts after they made headlines last fall soon after he launched hisSenate campaign.
And Platner has said he got the skull. crossbones tattoo in 2007 while drinking with fellow Marines stationed in Croatia. He added. he covered up the tattoo with a new design after learning last year that it resembled a Nazi symbol. But new allegations from an ex-girlfriend raise questions about Platner's timeline regarding knowledge of the tattoo.
Rep. Ro Khanna, the progressive leader from California who organized Friday's rally with Platner, was asked by Fox News Digital whether he's concerned if the current allegations,. any potential future ones, could sink Platner's campaign and hurt Democrats' hopes of winning back the Senate.
"I’m more concerned about making it clear that we’re opposed to misogyny, those relationships were toxic. volatile, there’s no excuse for that,"Khanna said. "I talked to Graham,. he says he was at a very dark period, he had come back from two tours of duty in Iraq as an infantryman seeing violence and death. That doesn’t excuse it."
SEE IT: DEM SENATORS DODGE ON BACKING PLATNER AS MAINE CANDIDATE’S SCANDAL CLOUDS FINAL DAYS BEFORE PRIMARY
But Khanna noted that Platner said "he really grew as a person when he came back to Maine,. he was an oyster farmer, and he found peace, and he is ashamed of that period. To me, that suggests someone taking accountability and improving their lives, and we need that redemption in this country. And I agree with a lot of his economic policies. that we should be taxing the billionaires, we should be focusing on the working class."
Platner has been considered the all-but-certain Democratic nominee after two-term Gov. Janet Mills, who was backed by longtime Senate Democratic Leader Sen.Chuck Schumerand the Democratic Party establishment, dropped out of the race earlier this spring after significantly trailing Platner in fundraising. polling.
He's facing two long-shot rivals for the nomination in Tuesday's primary,. Mills' name remains on the ballot, which she highlighted in a recent interview. A source in Mills' wider political orbit confirmed to Fox News last week. the governor was receiving calls urging her to get back in the race amid Platner's controversies. But there's no active campaign effort on behalf of Mills.
Maine voters Fox News reportersspoke with ahead of the rally were divided on whether Platner's controversies would impact their opinions of the candidate. whether the allegations would weaken his ability to defeat Collins.
Collins. returningto Maineon Friday after a busy week on Capitol Hill where she reached a milestone by casting her 10,000th consecutive vote in the Senate, was asked by reporters about the latest allegations facing Platner.
"The allegations in the latest story are troubling," Collins responded. "And I believe that Graham Platner has a lot of questions to answer."
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Sen. Susan Collins of Maine stands for an interview with Fox News Digital in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 10, 2026.(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
Platner is facing plenty of incoming political fire from Republican groups. A super PAC aligned with Collins has been blasting Platner, running ads spotlighting his multiple controversies.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) charged that Platner is a "fraud."
"He's preaching about living a small but decent life growing up in Maine. The truth? Graham Platner is an elitist whose parents sent him to boarding school in Connecticut. bought him a house," the NRSC wrote.
And theRepublican National Committee(RNC) also targeted Platner.
"Graham Platner says his violent and erratic past is being "weaponized" against him. Platner said he would rape someone to show his dominance. "rape was about power," the RNC research team wrote on X, pointing to the latest allegations against the candidate.
Despite the allegations. the incoming fire from the GOP, no Democratic politicians who have backed Platner have rescinded their endorsements.
"We need to unite and realize that the goal is defeating Susan Collins. And everyone from Schumer to Sanders is unified around that goal," Khanna told Fox News Digital.
Platner has drawn large crowds. built a healthy fundraising war chest, and Democrats see Maine as a crucial pickup opportunity as they aim to win back the Senate majority.
But beating Collins, a moderate who is running for a sixth six-year term in the Senate. has a history of voting against PresidentDonald Trump'sagenda, won't be easy. Six years ago, public opinion polls indicated the senator was headed to defeat, but Collins defied expectations. won re-election by topping then-Democratic state House Speaker Sara Gideon by nine points.
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There's a crowded. competitive field of Democrats running for their party's gubernatorial nomination in the race to succeed the term-limited Mills. On the Republican side. Bobby Charles — former federal investigator — leads eight other candidates, including Jonathan Bush, nephew of the late President George H.W. Bush.
Also in the spotlight. the Democratic primary in the state's 2nd Congressional District, in the race to replace moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden, who announced last year that he would not seek re-election due to political polarization.
Republicans, who are aiming to hold their razor-thin majority in the House, view the mostly rural district which Trump carried in the 2016, 2020,. 2024 presidential elections, as a top pickup opportunity. Former two-term Republican Gov. Paul LePage is uncontested for the GOP nomination.
In South Carolina, Trump's endorsement is in the spotlight.
The president, a week and a half ago, handed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette 11th-hour support as she seeks to succeed a top Trump ally, term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster.
South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette announces her bid for the Republican nomination for governor at The Smokestack at Judson Mill in South Carolina on July 14. 2025.(Joshua Boucher/The State/Tribune News Service/Getty Images)
Evette is facing off in the GOP primary against a handful of top rivals. They are longtime South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, nationally known Rep.Nancy Mace, Rep. Ralph Norman and multimillionaire businessman Rom Reddy.
Since no candidate was expected to top 50% of the primary vote. land a majority, the top two finishers will advance to the June 23 Republican runoff.
The brute force of the president's endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past month, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky. Texas that grabbed plenty of national attention.
But his last-minute endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstraof Iowa—. came on the same day he also backed Evette — in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn't enough to muscle the three-term congressman to victory.
Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer. former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump Health SecretaryRobert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.
In the South Carolina GOPgubernatorial primary, the major contenders had long been highlighting their support for Trump. his agenda, in hopes of landing his support.
Trump, after staying neutral for months, endorsed Evette, praising her as an "America First Patriot". a "WINNER" in his announcement.
After Trump backed Evette. Mace said that her very vocal push last year for the Justice Department to release the files related to its probe into convicted sex offenderJeffrey Epsteincontributed to the president's backing of her rival.
Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina is running for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Henry McMaster.(Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service)
"I know I put the likelihood of an endorsement on the line when I demanded transparency on the Epstein files," the lawmaker wrote. "I demanded it because you deserved the truth — ALL OF IT," Mace emphasized in a post on X.
Trump. in a social media post endorsing Evette, also said he expected Evette to choose Henry McMaster Jr., the governor's son, as her running mate for lieutenant governor.
The comment by the president led to blowback in South Carolina political circles. speculation that McMaster, who succeeded then-Gov.Nikki Haleywhen she stepped down to serve as U.N. ambassador during Trump's first term. who is in his 10th year as governor, was trying to give his son a political boost.
But McMaster denied any deal or pressure,. Evette has said she wouldn't name any running mate until after the primary is over.
And on Friday, the younger McMaster took his name out of contention, saying it was "incredibly humbling" to be mentioned as a possible lieutenant governor candidate,. that "now is simply not the right time."
The winner of the Republican gubernatorial nomination will be considered the clear favorite in November'sgeneral electionin South Carolina.
State Rep. Jermaine Johnson, trial attorney. 2010gubernatorial candidateWilliam Mullins McLeod Jr., and businessman Billy Webster, who served as chief of staff to then-Democratic Gov. Richard Riley, are running for their party's nomination.
Longtime Republican Sen.Lindsey Grahamis the clear favorite in the Republican Senate primary,. is facing a tougher-than-expected challenge from South Carolina businessman Mark Lynch in a race that has devolved into mudslinging.
In Nevada, incumbent Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo is expected to fend off a handful of primary challengers as he seeks re-election. On the Democratic side, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is the clear favorite over Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill.
And in solidly red North Dakota, there is a competitive GOP house primary for the state's at-large district.
Fox News Digital's Alexis McAdams, Sally Persons, Jessica Sonkin and Luke Trevisan contributed to this report.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
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