Maine Senate Democratic hopeful Graham Platner’s wife told campaign staff that he had exchanged sexually explicit messages with other women, according to reports.
The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal both reported on the matter, detailing the allegations against the candidate.
Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, reportedly informed former senior campaign staffer Genevieve McDonald about the sexually explicit messages.
The reports indicate that Gertner raised the matter with campaign staff last year, bringing the allegations into the political sphere.
McDonald, identified as a former senior campaign staffer, was among those made aware of the situation by Gertner directly.
The allegations surfaced publicly following reporting by two major national news outlets, drawing significant attention to the Maine Senate race.
Platner, a Democrat, is seeking a Senate seat in Maine, and the reports have introduced a serious distraction to his campaign efforts.
The nature of the messages, described as sexually explicit, was relayed to campaign personnel by Platner’s own wife, according to both outlets.
The involvement of senior campaign staff in being informed of the matter suggests the issue reached beyond the couple’s private life.
The reports from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have placed renewed scrutiny on Platner’s candidacy at a critical stage of the race.