Even though Platner has been exposed for sporting an infamous Nazi tattoo, and for posting social media comments about rape, Platner is leading Republican Susan Collins in polling.
An average of four polls, published on the Real Clear Politics website, shows Platner with a promising 48%-43% lead. The most recent poll, by Pan Atlantic Research, shows him leading Collins 48% to 41%.
Platner is expected to cruise through a June 9 Democratic primary against his remaining opponent, David Costello, after Platner’s biggest competitor, Gov. Janet Mills, dropped out of the race in April.
Nick Adolphsen, of the Christian Civic League of Maine, told American Family News he is honestly stumped by Platner’s lead in the polls.
“Honestly, I wish I could put my finger on exactly what was going on here,” he said. “What we see coming out certainly doesn't reflect the Maine that I know.”
Maine’s voters chose Kamala Harris over Donald Trump 52%-45% in the 2024 election, giving her four electoral votes in an election that otherwise heavily tilted toward Trump in electoral votes and popular vote.
In 2020, during Sen. Collins’ most recent re-election campaign, she handily defeated Democrat challenger Sara Gideon 50%-42%.
Platner, who has no experience in politics, was competing for the Democrat nomination against Gov. Mills until she suddenly dropped out April 30, blaming her decision on poor campaign funds and Platner’s lead in polling.
Much like Collins trailing Platner, Mills was trailing him even after he was exposed last fall for sporting a “Totenkopf” tattoo. That skull-and-crossbones tattoo is infamous because it was adopted by Germany’s concentration camp guards during World War 2.
Despite being a rookie political candidate, Platner was smart enough to get ahead of the scandal by appearing on left-wing podcast “Pod Save America.” On that program, he claimed he was ignorant about its history when he got it while a U.S. Marine stationed in Croatia. He also got a new tattoo to cover it up.
Despite that claim of ignorance, however, a CNN investigation uncovered social media comments in which Platner knowingly discussed the “Totenkopf” tattoo with other Reddit users six years ago.
His username on Reddit was “P-Hustle.”
It was also on Reddit where Platner/P-Hustle made explicit remarks about women taking responsibility for sexual assault if they’re intoxicated. He has apologized for those comments, and blamed being lonely and disillusioned after returning from overseas.
Adolphsen say Platner has emerged as a very “charismatic” candidate on the campaign trail.
“He has certainly been attractive to a much higher number of people than I would have dared guess,” he told AFN.
