Democrats running to replace retiring Rep. Jared Golden in Maine’s Trump-friendly 2nd Congressional District are lining up behind controversial Senate candidate Graham Platner despite mounting backlash from centrists within their own party.
After Gov. Janet Mills, D-Maine, exited the Senate race in late April, the three leading Democratic contenders vying for the open House seat backed Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee, ahead of the June 9 primary.
Unlike the Democrats seeking to replace him, Golden has not publicly backed Platner and indicated to the Portland Press Herald that he does not plan to get involved in the Senate race.
Maine State Auditor Matt Dunlap and former congressional aide Jordan Wood explicitly endorsed Platner’s campaign. State Sen. Joe Baldacci, a Democrat with establishment support, also signaled support in a statement criticizing former Gov. Paul LePage, R-Maine, who is running unopposed for the GOP Senate nomination.
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But the candidates have been largely silent on Platner’s inflammatory social media posts and controversy over his covered-up tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol — issues that have fueled backlash from some elected Democrats.
Fox News Digital reached out to Baldacci, Wood and Dunlap’s campaigns and did not hear back.
Their alignment with Platner could complicate Democrats’ already difficult path to holding the swing seat vacated by Golden, who won re-election in 2024 by fewer than 3,000 votes, despite the district’s Republican tilt.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the open House race “Likely Republican,” citing the rural district’s red hue and Golden’s decision not to seek re-election.
Dunlap, who is seeking to occupy the contest’s progressive lane, is scheduled to appear with Platner at a get-out-the-vote rally next week. The event is being headlined by left-wing populist Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who has endorsed both Dunlap and Platner.
“With Graham Platner now the clear choice, I am prepared to rally behind his candidacy,” Dunlap wrote on social media. “He will be a phenomenal United States senator.”
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“He is the kind of leader Maine has been waiting for, as demonstrated by the strong support he has generated,” he continued.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), House Republicans’ campaign arm, is seeking to exploit the candidates’ ties to Platner in one of the reddest districts held by a Democrat in the country.
“By continuing to embrace Graham Platner, Matt Dunlap and Joe Baldacci have shown a stunning lack of judgment that Mainers will not overlook,” NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole told Fox News Digital.
Their support for Platner stands in stark contrast to centrist Democrats, such as Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., who have sharply rebuked Platner’s campaign.
Auchincloss, a Jewish Democrat, has argued that Platner’s Nazi-linked tattoo and his remarks defending it are “personally disqualifying.”
Meanwhile, senior Democrats in Washington have largely declined to comment on Platner’s slate of controversies or distance themselves from the Senate hopeful.
Melissa DeRosa, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s chief of staff, told Fox News’ Bret Baier earlier this week that disagreement over Platner’s candidacy among Democrats is indicative of a burgeoning rift within the party.
“The Maine race really demonstrates the civil war that’s happening within the Democratic Party, and there are a lot of Democrats, moderate Democrats like myself, who will not cry tears should we lose Maine,” DeRosa said. “I mean, that would be a pickup to begin with.”