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Graham Platner shouldn’t be elected to represent Maine in the U.S. Senate, a former high-level staffer for the embattled Democratic candidate told voters just hours before polls opened in the state’s Tuesday primary.
Genevieve McDonald, once a Maine state representative who worked briefly as Platner’s campaign director last year, warned in an op/ed in The Washington Post on Monday evening: “Graham Platner is not someone who would be good for Maine or for the country.”
While she overlooked his Nazi-linked tattoo and possible cheating scandal, McDonald said in the piece titled “I know firsthand why Graham Platner shouldn’t be a U.S. senator” that she couldn’t ignore how “he exhibits a pattern of dishonest behavior,” and ultimately quit the campaign after just two months.
“I was one of the Platner campaign’s first gaslighting casualties,” she wrote.
Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner has campaigned on progressive economic policies focused on taxing billionaires and lowering costs for working-class Americans. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
McDonald said she was “disturbed” by what she learned during her time on his staff from August to October 2025.
“If America wants a stronger democracy, elevating leaders with integrity is essential,” she wrote in the opinion piece. “Leaders with sound judgment and ethics. Leaders who embrace and live the ideals the nation stands for.”
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McDonald complained about the series of skeletons that emerged, including the Nazi-linked tattoo on his chest, recent allegations of physical misconduct with an ex-girlfriend and lewd Reddit posts that have rocked his campaign.
She specifically took issue with one Reddit post where Platner said white, rural Americans are ‘racist’ and ‘stupid.’ The demographic he attacked is the one in which he is now hoping to represent in the U.S. Senate.
McDonald also slammed the campaign’s “feigned ignorance” of the significance of the tattoo, which she described as “appalling.”
Genevieve McDonald places a bait bag in a lobster trap while fishing off the coast of Stonington, Maine, on Sept. 5, 2015. (Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images)
The woman who made allegations of physical violence against Platner, Lyndsey Fifield, stood in solidarity with McDonald after the piece was published on Monday night.
“Last year, I watched a woman sacrifice her career to stand on principle and warn the public about a dangerous man. Genevieve has been relentlessly attacked — but she kept her honor and her soul. She has inspired me to stay strong through this storm.”
Among other revelations in the op/ed, McDonald said the campaign offered her a severance package of $15,000 contingent upon signing a non-disclosure agreement, which she refused.
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McDonald conveyed that she wanted to believe Platner’s narrative of redemption — the candidate often touts himself as a man with a troubled past who has since straightened up — but she felt the overwhelming scandals were too much for her to continue working on the campaign.
She also used the platform in the Post to take a dig at Platner, who has pitched himself as a working-class Mainer, humble oyster farmer and small-town harbor master.
“I realized the campaign had not been honest with me,” McDonald wrote. “As someone from a real working-class background, I knew this would undermine his cross-party appeal.”
That narrative has recently fallen apart as his campaign came under fire from multiple angles.
Platner’s mother, who owns a restaurant, is listed as the only customer of his oyster farming business on its financial disclosers. He farms off a private island owned by the family of his business partner, and his father gave him a $200,000 loan to purchase a home.
Senatorial candidate Graham Platner speaks at a town hall at the Leavitt Theater in Ogunquit, Maine, on Oct. 22, 2025. (Sophie Park/Getty Images)
“I want better for my daughters, and for the people of Maine,” McDonald wrote. “Democrats are being sold a narrative that Platner is the only choice for the race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Maine voters don’t have to accept that.”
There are two other Democratic candidates on the ballot in Tuesday’s race, Gov. Janet Mills and consultant David Costello.
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Mills was Platner’s main challenger, but withdrew from the race due to her campaign’s lack of funds on hand. Her withdrawal, however, came after the ballots were already printed — so her name will still appear as an option for voters.
“The answer to a broken political culture is not to accept it,” McDonald concluded. “Demand better from those entrusted with power or seeking it.”
“Enough is enough.”