Graham Platner: A Lesson in Character and Complicity
Issue 2891 -July 13, 2026
Didn’t the great poet Maya Angelou warn us, “When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time?”
His excuses for having the Nazi symbol tattoo on his chest should have been enough to tell the politicians and political consultants who were enamored of his seeming to be a “manly man” in a politically progressive persona that serious flashing yellow lights were likely to tank his ambitions.
As you probably guessed, I am talking about Graham Platner, whose candidacy for U.S. Senator from Maine fell from its meteoric rise to its ignominious fall. His 11-minute video is full of excuses for the demise of his campaign, including the growing number of incidents of sexual misconduct for which he has been accused by multiple women.
In that video he told us again something very important about himself—in his mind, it’s always someone or something else’s fault. He either denies all allegations, says he has changed, or attributes the situation to a plot against him and all who share his heroic attempt to create change in the country.
I believe in grace and redemption. Goodness knows we have all made mistakes in our lives. And coming back from those mistakes can not only build character, they can serve as lessons to inspire others struggling with the same demons. But that only works when mistakes are truly owned and their lessons truly learned.
When you are a candidate for elected office or otherwise seeking a high-profile position, you should know that every aspect of your past and present will be scrutinized through that lens. You can’t try to withhold it or soft pedal it. And in the sea change occurring in how young women such as attorney and social media influencer Cheyenne Hunt, executive director of Reckoning Action, women know they don’t have to put up with the kind of misogynistic misconduct that previous generations absorbed as just the way things were.
Hunt had initially endorsed Platner, But after several women came forth credibly alleging various forms of sexual misconduct, which he denies, she rescinded her endorsement and went on the offensive.
In an Instagram post, Hunt stated “The mandate of Reckoning Action is to call out misogyny in all its forms. Accountability doesn’t stop at the people we like.”
** Note: Cheyenne Hunt will speak at Take The Lead’s Power Up Conference August 26 in Washington D.C.. She will participate in panels on “Women’s Health Unfiltered: Sex & Leadership” and “Young, Bold & Unstoppable: No Seat at the Table? Build One.” Register here to join in this thoughtful, transformational conversation.**
Cheyenne Hunt will be speaking at Power Up 2026.
As the campaign began to crumble, Platner’s previous supporters began to rescind their endorsements, as though they had never noticed his liabilities—or worse, thought those very liabilities were strengths.
In either case, complicity with the kind of power that is oppressive, as opposed to generative and positive power that can make the world better, is the culprit.
Journalist Moira Donegan’s detailed analysis of Platner’s rise and fall aptly asks “Why Was the Pundit Class so Quick to Defend Graham Platner?” Her conclusion is both chilling and, in the last line, heartening:
“The theory of the case for those who believed in Platner was electability: that his questionable behavior and bigoted past statements would read as authentic to the white working-class voters whose support has become the sine qua non of US political legitimacy. These voters, we were told, would like that Platner had said ignorant and politically incorrect things; would like that he seemed so unpolished, so uncareful, so unguarded.”
Put aside for a moment that this theory betrays a rather low opinion of the working class: it also does not seem to have been true. In polls released just before Racicot’s allegation [of sexual assault] became public, Platner was trailing his opponent, incumbent Republican Susan Collins, among voters without a college degree. The reason? Many said he lacked “good character” and “the right kind of moral values”.
How many postmortems, how much handwringing, how much recrimination about inadequate vetting does it take to wrestle a story like Platner’s to the ground?
I suggest that instead of finger pointing, how about looking in the mirror? How about acknowledging the rampant complicity that enabled someone with so many liabilities in his character to garner the support of prominent players?
I’ll confess my bias: he grated on my nerves from the start. The brutish characteristics in progressive clothing that captivated consultants and the likes of Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ro Khanna were unappealing to me.
But in their constant, and in my opinion misguided, attempts to woo those patriarchal white male voters who never will be theirs, they became complicit in the same excuses that Platner used to self-aggrandize and justify behavior that should never be tolerated in an elected official, or anyone else for that matter.
GLORIA FELDT is the Co-founder and President of Take The Lead, a motivational speaker, and a global expert in women’s leadership development and DEI for individuals and companies that want to build gender balance. She is a bestselling author of five books, most recently Intentioning: Sex, Power, Pandemics, and How Women Will Take The Lead for (Everyone’s) Good. Honored as Forbes 50 Over 50, and Former President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she is a frequent media commentator. Learn more at www.gloriafeldt.com and www.taketheleadwomen.com. Find her @GloriaFeldt on all social media.