Maine Senate candidate Platner loses backing as abuse claims mount
What's new: Rep. Madeleine Dean said Platner was no longer fit for office as voters head into Tuesday's Democratic primary.
Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner faced fresh political fallout Friday after Rep. Madeleine Dean said he had disqualified himself from Maine's U.S. Senate race amid a growing stream of abuse allegations and past controversies. Platner, an oyster farmer and combat veteran, is seeking his party's nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins. The New York Times reported that former girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield accused him of repeated physical abuse more than a decade ago. Platner acknowledged personal failings to the AP but denied broader allegations and called them politically motivated. The scrutiny follows earlier reports about explicit messages, a skull tattoo he said he did not recognize as a Nazi symbol, and old Reddit posts for which he apologized. Maine's Democratic primary is Tuesday.