Maine Republican state Sen. Trey Stewart is blasting Democrats for backing Graham Platner, arguing the party has crossed a line by defending a nominee with an extremist record of deleted posts and offensive remarks. Stewart says Platner’s history—self-descriptions as “communist” and “socialist,” alleged slurs, and comments about wounded veterans—shows a pattern that Maine voters will reject, and he predicts Senator Susan Collins will hold the seat in a middle-of-the-road state.
Stewart is blunt about the stakes and the optics. He warned Democrats are “selling their soul” by rallying behind a candidate whose past online posts include labels like “communist” and “socialist” and allegedly homophobic language. From a Republican perspective, the concern is not just a single bad post but an accumulation of behavior that contradicts mainstream values in Maine.
“The voters care a lot,” Stewart said, pointing to the backlash over Platner’s deleted social media and resurfaced remarks. He painted a picture of a nominee embraced by a subset of activists willing to discard principles to unseat Susan Collins, saying that pattern of support reveals what he calls a deeper problem within the party. Stewart believes those extreme choices will alienate the broader electorate that values moderation and respect.
“I think that he’s a flash in the pan for right now amongst extreme liberal Democrats who can’t see past defeating Susan Collins at any cost, and what they’re really doing is selling their soul to somebody who has a tattoo that’s affiliated with the Nazis on his chest, has made slanderous remarks, really pretty ugly and horrifying remarks about veterans who have been injured in combat, racist and bigoted statements that were misogynist, so literally everything that you hear the left trying to villainize the right about, he’s actually guilty of and there’s a track record of this.” That passage captures the depth of Stewart’s anger and the evidence he says Democrats are overlooking.
Stewart is confident about Collins’ chances and frames her as the reliable, influential figure Maine needs. “Susan Collins, who is one of, if not the most influential votes in the United States Senate, and certainly an incredible influence financially and otherwise for the state of Maine, is going to be victorious,” he said. “That’s because Maine, at the end of the day, is a middle-of-the-road state.” From this view, voters will choose stability and results over a risky, controversial alternative.
Republicans point to past races as proof that Maine resists extremes on either side of the aisle. Stewart reminded listeners of Collins’ comeback in 2020 when she trailed in polls yet managed to hold on in a fiercely contested campaign. The message is simple and direct: Maine voters do not tend to reward candidates who appear radical or reckless, regardless of party labels.
Stewart called the Democratic defense of Platner “embarrassing” and argued it signals a national trend he finds concerning. “I find it highly embarrassing that this is where the Democrat party is, not just in the state of Maine, but across the country at this point, with the most extreme sort of tail-wagging-the-dog effect,” he said. “Maybe that is the direction that the Democrat party in Maine and in our country is going,” he said. “If it is, then ultimately that’s going to be a very dangerous place for them and a very dangerous place for our country.”
Platner, a Marine veteran with combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, faces scrutiny over resurfaced posts and comments, and Republicans argue his responses have been insufficient. Reports of a resurfaced post mocking a wounded Purple Heart recipient fuel the outrage, and Stewart stresses that accountability matters. “This is not the right course of action that he should be taking,” Stewart said. “If anything, he owes a number of apologies to the people who he has said highly offensive things to. But beyond that, certainly United States Senate is something that is completely out of grasp for an individual like this.”
Stewart left little room for nuance on how this plays out in November. “He really just needs help,” Stewart said. “He doesn’t need a seat in the United States Senate.” With Governor Janet Mills no longer running and Platner emerging as the presumptive Democratic nominee, Republicans say the choice for Maine voters is clear: stick with a known, pragmatic senator or gamble on a candidate they argue represents a shift away from the state’s traditions. A request for comment was made to the Platner campaign.
