Platner campaign confirms explicit texts sent during marriage

The campaign of Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner confirmed Saturday, May 30, 2026, that he exchanged sexually explicit texts with multiple women while married to his wife, Amy Gertner. The acknowledgement followed a report that Gertner had alerted the campaign about the messages in late August of the previous year. Gertner, who works for the campaign as a paid volunteer coordinator, said a former friend was spreading what she described as “malicious gossip.”

Gertner said she had shared personal details about her marriage with the former friend and later watched that person repeat the information to others. She said the episode amounted to a betrayal and an invasion of her privacy. The campaign did not publicly name the former friend referenced in Gertner’s statement.

Genevieve McDonald, identified as a former senior campaign staffer, said the campaign confirmed the events occurred. McDonald previously shared a screenshot of her texts with Gertner as part of the reporting that preceded the campaign’s statement.

Gertner said her relationship with Platner is “stronger than ever before,” and pointed to counseling and what she called frank conversations as part of a reconciliation process. She described the matter as involving the early period of their marriage, before the Senate campaign was underway.

Nomination outlook and earlier controversies

Platner, an oyster farmer, launched his Senate campaign in August 2025. He became the presumptive Democratic nominee after Gov. Janet Mills withdrew from the primary in April 2026, according to the account cited in the original reporting.

His candidacy has faced several controversies since entering the race. Reports in October 2025 described past online posts in which he allegedly advocated violence and referred to himself as a “communist.”

Platner also disclosed that he had a tattoo resembling a Nazi Totenkopf, which he later covered. He expressed regret about the tattoo in the earlier account.

Support from Ro Khanna remains in place

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) reiterated his support for Platner in a social media post Saturday, and said he planned to campaign with the candidate next week. The post described Khanna’s reasons for backing Platner and indicated the two would appear together at an event in Maine.

Further developments are expected as the campaign heads into next week’s events and as additional details emerge about the fallout inside Maine’s Senate race.