Michael LaRosa said Democrats backing Graham Platner are playing a “really dangerous game,” a sharp public break from party loyalists who have stuck with the Maine Senate hopeful even as his campaign has been engulfed by controversy. LaRosa, the former press secretary for first lady Jill Biden, said he was shocked by how many Democrats were willing to keep circling the wagons.
That criticism lands while Platner is still leading in the polls, which is why his race has become more than a local fight in Maine. Democrats are looking at the same numbers and drawing different conclusions: some see the chance to beat five-term Sen. Susan Collins, while LaRosa sees a line they should not cross for a seat in Washington.
LaRosa told News Digital he did not understand why some Democrats were, in his words, “circling the wagons just to beat Susan Collins.” He said Platner does not reflect the values he would expect in a Democratic candidate, and he added that he gets wanting the Senate seat and wanting Chuck Schumer to become majority leader. But, he said, he is not willing to back “anybody off the street” just because they excite parts of the party.
The Maine race has already been bruised by resurfaced sexually explicit and vulgar online posts, including one that mocked a Purple Heart veteran who was shot multiple times by the Taliban. Platner has also faced scrutiny over a tattoo of a Nazi symbol on his chest, a detail that has only deepened the backlash even as his standing in the polls has held up. That combination has turned the campaign into a test of how far Democrats are willing to go in the name of winning.
LaRosa said he draws the line at supporting “a Democrat who has Nazi tattoos,” and said Platner’s own conduct disqualifies him. He said Platner attended elite private schools and argued that his history includes rhetoric advocating political violence and mocking wounded U.S. soldiers shot by the Taliban. For LaRosa, the calculation is blunt: winning is “just not worth it” if it means standing behind Platner.
The split now hangs over a campaign that continues to move forward with the candidate at its center. Platner’s supporters are betting the controversy will not erase his advantage, while critics inside the party are warning that the cost of keeping him in the race may be greater than the prize of taking on Collins. What Democrats do next will show whether their top priority is the seat or the standard they are willing to defend.
