Ex-aide drops bombshell on Graham Platner hours before polls close, 'He gaslighted me'

WASHINGTON, DC: Just hours before Maine Democrats headed to the polls, Graham Platner’s Senate campaign was hit with a damaging public rebuke from someone who once worked at the highest levels of his operation.

Genevieve McDonald, a former Maine state representative who briefly served as Platner’s campaign director last year, published a sharply critical opinion piece in The Washington Post on late Monday, June 8, arguing that the Democratic candidate should not be elected to the US Senate. 

The timing of the intervention adds fresh turbulence to a race that has already been overshadowed by a series of controversies surrounding Platner.

Former ally questions Platner’s character

McDonald said her concerns were not rooted in a single incident but in what she described as a pattern of behavior.

In the essay, she wrote that Platner “is not someone who would be good for Maine or for the country,” adding that during her time with the campaign she became increasingly convinced that he displayed “a pattern of dishonest behavior.”

One of the most striking lines in the piece came when McDonald described herself as “one of the Platner campaign’s first gaslighting casualties,” suggesting she felt misled while working inside the organization.

According to McDonald, she joined the campaign believing in Platner’s message but left after becoming troubled by what she learned behind the scenes.

The former campaign director revisited several issues that have dogged Platner's candidacy in recent months.

Among them were questions surrounding a controversial tattoo that has generated scrutiny, allegations made by a former girlfriend and resurfaced online posts that critics say cast doubt on his judgment.

McDonald specifically pointed to comments attributed to Platner on Reddit in which he reportedly referred to some white rural Americans as “racist” and “stupid,” remarks that have drawn criticism given his effort to build support among Maine voters across the state.

She also blasted what she characterized as the campaign's claimed lack of awareness regarding the symbolism associated with the tattoo controversy, describing that explanation as difficult to accept.

NDA allegation adds another layer

McDonald also alleged that after leaving the campaign, she was offered a severance package worth $15,000 in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement.

She said she declined the offer.

The claim immediately became one of the most talked-about revelations from the essay, raising fresh questions about the campaign’s internal operations and its handling of former staff members.

Another theme running through McDonald’s criticism was Platner’s public image.

The Senate candidate has frequently presented himself as a working-class Mainer, oyster farmer and harbor master whose life story reflects perseverance and redemption.

McDonald, however, argued that the reality she encountered differed from the narrative being presented to voters.

“I realized the campaign had not been honest with me,” she wrote, suggesting that aspects of Platner’s biography and public branding did not match her understanding of the facts.

Recent reporting has highlighted details about family financial support and business relationships that critics argue complicate his working-class image.

McDonald framed her intervention as a matter of principle rather than politics.

“If America wants a stronger democracy, elevating leaders with integrity is essential,” she wrote. “Leaders with sound judgment and ethics. Leaders who embrace and live the ideals the nation stands for.”

She concluded with a direct appeal to voters, arguing that Democrats should not feel obligated to rally behind Platner simply because he emerged as a leading contender in the race against Sen Susan Collins.