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Maine Gov. Janet Mills is reminding Democratic voters that she hasn’t actually left the Senate race, even as Democrat frontrunner Graham Platner faces growing scrutiny over the latest controversy to engulf his campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n The comments come at a difficult moment for Platner, the left-wing oyster farmer whose insurgent campaign effectively pushed Mills out of the race earlier this year but who now finds himself defending a fresh round of damaging headlines just days before Maine Democrats head to the polls.<\/span><\/p>\n “People have the impression that I ‘withdrew’ or ‘dropped out,’” Mills told the <\/span>Portland Press Herald<\/span><\/a> in an interview Monday. “I simply suspended active campaigning. I am still on the ballot.”<\/span><\/p>\n According to reporting from both <\/span>The Wall Street Journal<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>The New York Times<\/span><\/a>, Platner admitted sending sexually explicit text messages to multiple women after marrying his wife, Amy Gertner, in 2023. While Platner has disputed aspects of the reporting, his campaign has not denied the existence of the messages.<\/span><\/p>\n “Graham isn’t saying the texts to other women at the start of the marriage are not real. They are,” a campaign official said. <\/span><\/p>\n The controversy is only the latest in a string of politically damaging revelations that have followed Platner throughout his campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n Earlier this year, the Democrat faced questions over a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol, which he later covered. Old social media posts and Reddit comments resurfaced showing Platner making inflammatory remarks, including comments praising aspects of fascism and insulting American service members.<\/span><\/p>\n More recently, a <\/span>Daily Wire review<\/span><\/a> found that Platner maintains an active account on Kik, an anonymous messaging platform that has long faced criticism from child-safety advocates and law enforcement officials because of its association with sexual predators and child exploitation cases.<\/span><\/p>\n The account, registered under the username “phustle0331,” closely mirrors usernames Platner has used on Instagram and Reddit. The profile photo appears to depict a shirtless man with tattoos matching those worn by Platner.<\/span><\/p>\n Those concerns are expected to be front and center Tuesday when Platner meets with Democratic senators in Washington, D.C. According to <\/span>Axios<\/span><\/a>, senators plan to question him directly about the allegations surrounding the sexually explicit messages. <\/span><\/p>\n