Politics

Auchincloss calls for Platner to drop out of Maine Senate race

Rep. Jake Auchincloss also said that Maine's state auditor should drop his primary bid against the moderate Democrat who represents much of rural Maine.

Rep. Jake Auchincloss. Alex Brandon/AP

October 27, 2025

3 minutes to read

Rep. Jake Auchincloss, a Newton Democrat, waded into the increasingly contentious Democratic Senate primary in Maine over the weekend by calling for progressive upstart Graham Platner to drop out.

The comments come as Platner’s campaign struggles to maintain its early momentum and weather multiple controversies related to revelations about the candidate’s old posts online and a tattoo associated with Nazi imagery.

Auchincloss sharply criticized Platner and urged him to drop out during an interview with WCVB’s “On the Record” that aired Sunday.

“This is a man who criticized and mocked police, rural Americans, and then put a Nazi tattoo on his body,” Auchincloss said of Platner.

The congressman referenced comments Platner made to the Associated Press about how he does not view the controversies as a “liability.”

“I think it’s a liability, and I think we should have high standards for United States senators and one of them is: you don’t have a Nazi tattoo on your body,” Auchincloss said.

Platner has said that he got the tattoo as a young Marine on shore leave in Croatia in 2007. It depicts a skull and crossbones “Totenkopf” symbol that was worn on some Nazi uniforms during Hitler’s reign.

Platner maintains that he had no idea that the image had Nazi connotations, and that he simply picked the design out from options on a wall in a tattoo parlor while drunk with his fellow Marines. After initially saying that he would get the tattoo removed, Platner recently revealed that he got the image covered up instead due to the limited options for tattoo removal where he lives and the amount of time that that procedure would take.

“I never once thought about it in that context. And the moment it was pointed out to me; I have gotten it covered up. Because I hate antisemitism. I hate Nazism and Nazis,” Platner told WGME.

Platner’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

Platner, a 41-year-old oyster farmer and political newcomer, electrified Democrats in Maine earlier this year with his blend of progressive ideology and blue-collar appeal. He won the support of national figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders and raised hopes that he could eventually oust Sen. Susan Collins.

But that was before Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer successively recruited Maine Gov. Janet Mills to run in the primary and the reporting about Platner’s tattoo and old posts on the internet.

In since-deleted posts, Platner supported using violence to achieve social change, said that “all” police are bastards, and said sexual assault victims should “take some responsibility for themselves,” according to multiple reports.

Platner apologized for the posts and said that many of them were made while he struggled with his mental health after coming back from overseas deployment. Sanders and others have stood by Platner, but recent polling suggests he now has an uphill battle on his hands. He has shown no indication of dropping out of the race.

Auchincloss also had strong words for Maine State Auditor Matt Dunlap, who is waging a primary challenge against Rep. Jared Golden. The incumbent is a moderate Democrat who represents a massive swathe of mostly rural Maine. Dunlap has alarmed national party leaders, who reportedly fear that he would lose in the general election.

“Jared Golden is, without hyperbole, the only Democrat in America who can win that seat. And any Democrat who tries to trip him up or undermine him going into that general election is directly helping his MAGA competitor,” Auchincloss said. “I encourage Mr. Dunlap to drop out and support Jared.”

Golden, Auchincloss noted, is a member of Majority Democrats. This new group consists of relatively young Democrats at the federal, state, and local levels who have had success running in competitive seats. Auchincloss is the inaugural chairman of the group, saying that they are looking to shape the future of the party.

In recent months, political insiders speculated that Auchincloss could mount a primary challenge against 79-year-old Sen. Ed Markey. Auchincloss eventually said that he considered it, but decided to focus his efforts on leading Majority Democrats. Rep. Seth Moulton, another ambitious young congressman, is challenging Markey.

Auchincloss declined to get involved in that race when asked about it on WCVB.

“My focus is not on the Massachusetts Senate race, my focus is on the Majority Democrats,” he said. “We’re going to communicate differently, we’re going to govern differently, we’re going to talk about ideas differently because if the Democratic Party stays on its current course, we will be stuck in a cul-de-sac of minority governance.”