Graham Platner thinks Democratic voters will overlook his past to support a new type of candidate

ELLSWORTH, Maine (AP) — In another world, revelations of problematic social media posts, a tattoo closely resembling a Nazi symbol and a sudden turnover in campaign staffers would have been enough to sink any political candidate.

But Graham Platner, a Democrat looking to flip a Maine U.S. Senate seat in a key 2026 contest, isn’t stepping aside.

A plain-speaking oyster farmer and combat veteran, Platner has been open about mistakes he says he made in the past and his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. He believes voters want to see new Democratic faces who will fight for them, and he’s betting that the old rules of politics — with highly vetted candidates and an emphasis on propriety — no longer apply.

There’s reason to believe he may be right. Republican Donald Trump was elected president last year as a convicted felon. And last week, Virginia voters supported Jay Jones for attorney general even after text messages the Democrat sent calling for violence against political rivals became public.

Platner is convinced his brand of gruff populism and calls for economic equality are what’s needed to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins, a five-term incumbent whose seat may be critical to Democrats’ hopes to take back the Senate in 2026. First he would need to win the Democratic nomination — no easy task with Gov. Janet Mills also running.

“I’m not doing this because I want power, I want influence, or I want money,” Platner told The Associated Press in an interview. “I’m doing it because we need a better politics, and I’m committed to that project.”

Platner, 41, grew up in Sullivan, a tiny town about 170 miles up the coast from Portland, the son of a lawyer father and a restaurant owner mother who divorced when he was a child.

“We raised our children with strong values and beliefs. And I believe that Graham still has these,” his mother, Leslie Harlow, said in a speech on her son’s behalf. “I know that Graham has always been the kid, the young man and the man who paved his own way.”

He attended Hotchkiss School, a pricey Connecticut prep school, and said he was swiftly thrown out his freshman year after behavioral problems and trouble adjusting.

Platner eventually graduated from a Bangor Catholic high school before joining the military, where he served three tours in Iraq and another in Afghanistan.

When he returned, Platner says, he struggled with reintegration to civilian life, but stresses his tale of redemption was made possible by a stable home and work life. He and his wife, Amy, married last year, and they live in his hometown with their dogs. One, Zevon, is named after one of his sources of inspiration, singer Warren Zevon.

The home, not far from a boat launch near his oyster farm, is adorned with pictures of himself and Amy. The yard contains oyster cages, boat motors and buoys spread across the grass and a pile of oyster shells stretching near shoulder level.

This is the life Platner has battled demons to be able to live. But he’s willing to disrupt it if it means a seat in the Senate.

“I’m here because I’m seeing a political system utterly fail my community, and it fell to me to do so,” Platner said.

When he returned home from service, Platner says he was disillusioned, struggling with PTSD and overwhelmed seeing his neighbors crushed by the costs of housing and health care.

He turned to the online forum Reddit, getting in online fights and leaving a wide range of inflammatory comments. Platner deleted them but they have since resurfaced, showing him endorsing political violence, dismissing rape in the military and criticizing police officers and rural America.

He has apologized for the comments posted between 2013 and 2021, but says he’s not ashamed of who he was back then.

Yet more old Reddit posts emerged after the initial wave in October, some of which used derogatory terms for women and people with disabilities. The second wave of posts retained the rough style, but displayed a strong opposition to racism and sexism and what he saw as a rising tide of fascism.

In an early November online meeting with supporters, he said, “If you believe in transformational politics, which I do, you also have to believe in the power of people to transform.”

There's also the tattoo.

Roughly 20 years ago, while on leave, Platner says he got drunk with some fellow Marines and got a skull and crossbones tattoo on his chest.

That image would later be identified as a Totenkopf, a symbol of Hitler’s paramilitary Schutzstaffel, or SS, which was responsible for the systematic murders of millions of Jews and others in Europe during World War II.

Like he did with the Reddit posts, Platner has been forthcoming about why and how he got the tattoo and has not wavered from his explanation that he didn’t know what the image meant until someone pointed it out on the campaign.

Democrats are currently scrambling to find a way to take back control of the U.S. Senate next year. That has meant turning attention to Maine, home of the only Republican senator left in New England — Collins.

Yet it's still unclear who will become the Democratic nominee to lead that fight in the state known as “Vacationland."

Gov. Janet Mills — a 77-year-old longtime state politician — entered the race with the warm embrace of Washington, D.C., elite Democratic leaders and advocacy groups. Platner maintains he’s the candidate that’s the new face of the Democratic Party.

A representative for Collins declined to comment about Platner's campaign. The Mills campaign said in a statement that Mills "will be a relentless champion for Maine people in the U.S. Senate — and that’s why Maine people will send her there next year.” Collins and Mills have both criticized Platner’s past actions.

Democratic National Chair Ken Martin recently told Fox News Sunday that it’s up to the voters to decide and “then we’ll fight like hell for whoever they send us."

Platner was a political unknown prior to this run, but it has earmarks of a professional campaign. It has also experienced high turnover, with political director and former state Rep. Genevieve McDonald among those to leave. McDonald cited the Reddit posts as a reason for departing.

“These statements were not known to me when I agreed to join the campaign, and they are not words or values I can stand behind in a candidate for the United States Senate,” McDonald said in a letter she made public.

The campaign is requiring staffers to sign nondisclosure agreements, which Platner defended as standard for high-stakes campaigns. However, the practice comes as other staffers have left the campaign, including his treasurer and finance director. Separately, his campaign manager left just four days after accepting the position after learning his wife was pregnant.

Platner has dismissed concerns about staff turnover as part of the campaign growing pains. Instead, he says his background, his evolution and even his mistakes are what voters are seeking.

“Here in Maine, people are angry,” he said. “They’re frustrated. They are disillusioned. They see a political apparatus that has not served their interests.”

Kruesi reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

A worker enters the campaign headquarters for US Senate candidate Graham Platner, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Ellsworth, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A campaign sign for Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, in Sullivan, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, kisses his wife, Amy Gertner, before she heads out, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, in Sullivan, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, third from left, and others, take in the view of Frenchman's Bay near his oyster farm, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, in Sullivan, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, shows oyster shells to a visitor at his home, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, in Sullivan, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, and his wife, Amy Gertner, walk together while canvassing for a citizen's initiate on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Ellsworth, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, chats with his neighbor, Denis Nault, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, in Sullivan, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, in Sullivan, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Graham Platner checks in with an election official before voting, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Sullivan, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks to a reporter at his home, Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, in Sullivan, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) — Iraq overcame major logistical issues to become the 48th and final team to secure a spot at the 2026 World Cup with a 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff Tuesday, ending a wait of four decades to return to soccer's marquee global event.

Ali Almahadi opened the scoring in the 18th minute, Moises Paniagua tied it for Bolivia in the 38th and Aymen Hussein scored the clincher in the 53rd minute for Iraq. The Iraq team will join Group I along with France, Norway and Senegal.

“We have nothing to lose, let’s try to shock the world with a crazy result and performance. It is great that we qualified,” Iraq coach Graham Arnold said. “It is a privilege for us."

Arnold, who guided Australia at the 2022 World Cup, said he didn't think his Iraqi players had faced the likes of France star Kylian Mbappe or Norway's Erling Haaland.

"It will be an honor. We respect those players and what they do, but we will try to win.”

Iraq will be back at the World Cup for the first time since Mexico 1986, kicking off June 16 against Norway at Foxborough, followed by games against France on June 22 at Philadelphia and Senegal at Toronto on June 26.

Bolivia missed out on qualifying for its second World Cup.

“What remains is pain and frustration; we feel devastated by the result," Bolivia coach Oscar Villegas said. “These young men lost with honor on the field and gave everything to achieve the result, but unfortunately, the country missed out on the World Cup.”

The match was played in front of 49,286 fans at the BBVA stadium in Monterrey, one of three host cities in Mexico for the World Cup.

“I’ve got to give full credit to the players — their fighting spirit was unreal,” Arnold said in comments posted on fifa.com. "They put their body on the line, and 46 million people are proud.”

Earlier this month, Iraq faced uncertainty about even been able to contest the playoffs. The war in Iran resulted in Iraqi players being stranded because their country’s airspace was closed, preventing the team from using commercial flights to leave. Team officials officially asked FIFA to postpone the playoff match.

“Everything that is going on in the Middle East made it a little bit harder but the main thing I said, and I worked very hard on, was their mentality,” Graham said. “I banned social media since the day we got here. I did not want them to think of what is going on in the Middle East because they had to focus on the job we had here.”

The team also faced visa complications because Mexico does not have an embassy in Iraq and players struggled to obtain visas. But the issue was resolved when the Mexico's foreign affairs ministry facilitated visas at other regional embassies.

The team finally arrived in Monterrey on March 21 after a 25-hour journey that included navigating travel restrictions and a stopover in Portugal.

Congo scored in extra time to edge Jamaica 1-0 earlier Tuesday to become the 47th of 48 teams that will play at the World Cup.

Axel Tuanzebe scored following a corner kick in the 100th minute. The Jamaican defenders failed to clear the ball and Tuanzebe, who plays for Burnley in the English Premier League tapped it into the net.

Congo has never played in a World Cup under that name, although it participated in the 1974 edition in Germany as Zaire.

With its victory in the intercontinental playoff at the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Congo completed Group K at the World Cup, where it will face Colombia, Portugal, and Uzbekistan.

“We’re going to enjoy the qualification, but we’ll keep working. We know we’ll be facing top nations who play in the World Cup every four years," Congo captain Chancel Mbemba said. "We’ll stay humble, keep our feet on the ground, and continue to work. We’ll give everything to make our supporters and our people proud.”

The Jamaica team, known as the Reggae Boyz, missed out on what would have been a second World Cup appearance.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Iraq's Aymen Hussein celebrates scoring his side's 2nd goal during the World Cup playoff final soccer match between Iraq and Bolivia in Monterrey, Mexico, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Iraq's Ali Al-Hamadi, right, celebrates scoring his side's opening goal during the World Cup playoff final soccer match between Iraq and Bolivia in Monterrey, Mexico, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Iraq's Aymen Hussein, left, is congratulated after scoring his side's 2nd goal during the World Cup playoff final soccer match between Iraq and Bolivia in Monterrey, Mexico, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

DR Congo's players celebrate at the end of the World Cup playoff final soccer match between DR Congo and Jamaica in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

DR Congo's players celebrate at the end of the World Cup playoff final soccer match between DR Congo and Jamaica in Guadalajara, Mexico, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)