Schumer backs Platner in Maine race despite explicit-text furor
Why it matters: Democrats are defending a vulnerable Senate bid in Maine as control of the chamber is at stake in November.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer met with Maine Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner on Tuesday and kept backing him despite new reports that Platner sent sexually explicit text messages to several women. Schumer, pressed repeatedly by reporters after the meeting in Washington, stuck to the party's broader goal of defeating Republican Sen. Susan Collins and reclaiming the Senate. Platner traveled to the capital to shore up support from Democratic senators and attend fundraisers as concerns spread inside the party that his personal controversies could damage a key pickup opportunity in the midterms.