Lefty Senate Candidate Sexted Women on Hookup App, Wife Told Campaign
A Democratic Senate candidate in Maine faces scrutiny after explicit images and messages from a hookup app surfaced, revealing extramarital sexting with multiple women.
Graham Platner, who is running for the United States Senate, was photographed in a topless selfie on Kik, a messaging app frequently used for hookups, according to New York Post. The image shows the left-wing candidate wearing only a towel in what appears to be a bathroom mirror selfie.
Multiple tattoos are visible in the photograph, including Asian script on his chest and full arm sleeves. Notably obscured by his hand in the image is his controversial “totenkopf” skull and crossbones tattoo—the notorious symbol of the Nazi SS death squads responsible for murdering six million Jews during the Holocaust.
Platner used the username phustle0331 on the platform, consistent with handles he has employed on other social media sites, as New York Post reports. The account dates back to 2016, though Platner has claimed he removed the app from his phone without deleting the actual account, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal.
Wife Discovered Sexting with Multiple Women
Amy Gertner, Platner’s wife whom he married in 2024, informed his former campaign director Genevieve McDonald that she had discovered sexually explicit messages between her husband and twelve different women. The discovery occurred in late spring 2025, according to The New York Times.
A Platner campaign representative disputed the number, telling media outlets that the candidate had only been in contact with six women and had ceased communication with them prior to launching his Senate bid.
Gertner waited until August to inform campaign staff about the messages, citing concerns they could become a liability during the election. The app Platner used has been at the center of multiple scandals and was described as a “predator’s paradise” by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. Nearly 60 percent of Kik’s 15 million monthly active users are between ages 13 and 24, Forbes has reported.
Nazi Tattoo Controversy Continues
The Maine oyster farmer has maintained he was unaware of the hateful symbolism of his SS tattoo when he received it during Marine Corps leave in Croatia in 2007. That explanation has been rejected by his own former campaign leadership.
McDonald, his ex-campaign director, dismissed the excuse on Facebook, writing that even if Platner did not initially understand the tattoo’s meaning, he has known for years what it represents and should have had it covered.
In a video statement posted to X, Gertner acknowledged that she and Platner see a marriage counselor and work on their mental health daily. She described their marriage as strong while acknowledging the difficulties of being newlyweds dealing with infertility.
History of Crude Online Posts
Platner has been endorsed by high-profile progressive senators including Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Yet his candidacy has been shadowed by a history of sexually crude and morally questionable statements posted on Reddit.
In one 2019 Reddit post, Platner boasted of having a “flexible moral compass” regarding infidelity. Other posts reported by Fox News Digital show him discussing experiences with prostitutes and defending servicemen who cheat on their wives.
In an April 2012 Reddit comment, Platner referenced experience with Latin American prostitutes. In another post, he defended men who lie to and cheat on women while claiming such behavior does not compromise their integrity as soldiers.
He also suggested that servicemembers could spend leave time with prostitutes in Thailand rather than returning home, framing it as a tax avoidance strategy related to loopholes used by federal contractors working abroad.
Additional posts included graphic references to self-gratification in portable toilets during his Marine Corps service, describing himself as conditioned by the experience.
The revelations raise serious questions about the vetting process within Democratic Party leadership and whether progressive standard-bearers like Sanders and Warren will maintain their endorsements of a candidate with such a troubling public record.
With information from New York Post
