Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner — who’s made headlines for his Nazi-linked tattoo — gained another high-profile endorsement Monday as Democrats remain split in the crucial race.
Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, who has drawn 2028 buzz, is the third senator to back Platner, hailing the oyster farmer’s authenticity and independence in a move that bucks Democratic leadership.
“Graham Platner is the kind of fighter Maine hasn’t seen in a long time, someone who tells you exactly what he thinks, doesn’t owe anything to the special interests, and wakes up every day thinking about working families,” Gallego said in a statement.
Both Gallego and Platner had tapped Democratic consultant Rebecca Katz to advise their Senate campaigns.
A self-described democratic socialist, Platner has also been endorsed by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM).
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Dems have thrown their weight behind Maine Gov. Janet Mills in hopes of defeating Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Platner, a Marine veteran, has faced a string of controversies related to antisemitism.
First was the revelation that he had a Nazi-linked tattoo on his chest, which he claimed to have had inked while on leave in Croatia roughly two decades ago, while inebriated.
The tattoo looked like a Totenkopf or “death’s head” symbol used by the notorious Nazi SS secret police force. Platner has since inked a tattoo over it with what he described as a “Celtic knot with some imagery around dogs.”
Platner has been adamant that he’s “not a secret Nazi.”
Last week, he was in hot water again after reposting an X by Stew Peters, an alt-right figure who has engaged in Holocaust denialism and espoused antisemitic conspiracy theories.
The post from Peters that Platner reposed came during the State of the Union and pointed out that President Trump’s line about Iran drew bipartisan applause. Platner’s team later said the repost was deleted after learning it was boosting a “despicable account.”
More recently, Platner faced controversy for doing an interview with retired Green Beret Nate Cornacchia, who has infamously spewed conspiracy theories that Israel played a role in the assassination of conservative icon Charlie Kirk and John F. Kennedy.
The Post contacted Platner’s campaign for comment.
The Maine Senate race is widely seen as one of the Democrats’ top potential Senate pickup opportunities in the 2026 midterms.
Schumer (D-NY) and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) are backing Mills, whom they view as the safer bet to take on incumbent Collins (R-Maine).
Platner is currently leading the Maine Senate primary for Democrats by 10 percentage points, according to the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate of polling, though there are only three polls of the race listed.
Polling in Maine famously underestimated Collins’ support in 2020, with the RCP aggregate at the time being off by double digits.
The Maine primary is set to take place on June 9.
