Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) is set to help rally donors for Graham Platner on Sunday — a major show of support from a top establishment figure for the embattled Maine Senate candidate.
Schatz is listed as the special guest at a “virtual pre-primary event in support of Graham Platner,” according to two donors familiar with the event and an invitation obtained by POLITICO. Tickets range from $100 to $7,000, the maximum allowed contribution, for the Sunday evening event, per the invite.
The invitation was circulated to donors on Friday afternoon, as Platner continued to face an onslaught of criticism from fellow Democrats over a series of scandals. A person from Schatz’s campaign, granted anonymity to discuss internal planning, said the event had been planned a few weeks prior.
The event is the first public stamp of approval from Schatz, who has not endorsed Platner previously. Making it even more notable is Schatz’s status as a rising leader in the party: He is currently deputy conference secretary and chief deputy whip for the Senate Democratic Caucus, and he has secured the votes — and Chuck Schumer’s endorsement — to take over the No. 2 role next year.
The person from Schatz's campaign said the senator had given money to Platner’s campaign in May after he became the presumptive nominee, part of a practice of donating to battleground Democrats who clear their fields. (Donations from that time have not yet been disclosed in campaign finance reports.)
One person close to Platner’s campaign, granted anonymity to share private details, confirmed the event and that the senator had not formally backed Platner yet.
Schatz’s presence is the latest signal that Senate Democrats are standing by Platner as he weathers a series of scandals.
Last week, news broke that Platner had sent sexually explicit texts to other women while married. Then, on Thursday, the New York Times reported new allegations of violent and disturbing behavior toward ex-girlfriends. One of them said the Democrat knew about his tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol when he got it done, despite his saying otherwise.
Platner has denied the claims. He is poised to lock up the Democratic nomination against GOP Sen. Susan Collins in Maine in Tuesday’s primary as the sole major candidate remaining and said he has “not once” considered dropping out.
His campaign on Friday announced that it had raised more than $200,000 since the Times story was published, calling it the best day of fundraising since Democratic Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign.
Democrats have been torn over how to respond to the escalating controversy surrounding Platner, with some arguing he is undermining the party’s values and should drop out of the race and others maintaining that he’s their best option to beat Collins. Maine, which former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024, is the party’s crown jewel of Senate pickup opportunities this cycle and effectively a must-win if they are to take back control of the chamber.
But Democrats and allied groups that have backed Platner have reiterated their support, including Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.); Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.); VoteVets, a group that has historically been aligned with Schumer; the Working Families Party and Showing Up for Racial Justice.
At a pre-planned Friday rally alongside Khanna, Maine 2nd District candidate Matt Dunlap and gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson, a defiant Platner thanked the crowd for having his back.
“As every single piece of that past and journey gets dug up, litigated and weaponized, you have my back,” he said to loud applause. “And when politically motivated, serious and false accusations are made against me, Maine, you have my back.”
The presence of Dunlap and Jackson — who are both in contested down-ballot races in Tuesday’s primary — suggests they see associating with Platner as a net positive with Maine voters, despite the controversies.
Khanna, speaking after Platner, said “no one should make excuses” for the candidate’s past relationships, but urged rallygoers to give him room for redemption — and focus on the upcoming battle in November.
"The Democratic Party, from Schumer to Sanders, is united with a single goal: we will defeat Susan Collins in November,” he said.
Still, some Democrats are closely watching what happens Tuesday — and whether a protest vote for Mills emerges — before renewing their calls for Platner to drop out.
Aaron Pellish contributed to this report.