Scoop: Platner heads to D.C. as Democrats worry over his campaign

Maine Democratic Senate primary frontrunner Graham Platner is scheduled to meet with Democratic senators in Washington on Tuesday afternoon, according to two people familiar with the plans.

Why it matters: The long-planned meeting will give senators an opportunity to ask Platner directly about allegations that he sent sexually explicit text messages to as many as a dozen women in 2023, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

• Over the weekend, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) indicated he had questions about the allegations.
• "Yes, I have concerns," Booker said on ABC News. "That guy has questions to answer. And that's what campaigns are for."

Zoom out: Democrats are increasingly concerned about Platner's viability in a must-win Senate race and whether the revelations about the text messages represent the campaign's final embarrassment — or merely its latest.

• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) backed Gov. Janet Mills in the race, but she suspended her campaign last month.
• Platner is also scheduled to attend a couple of fundraisers in DC, including one hosted by Ron Klain, a former chief of staff to former President Biden.

State of play: Platner has disputed aspects of the reporting, but his campaign has not denied its central claim — that he sent explicit text messages to other women after marrying in late 2023.

• "Graham isn't saying the texts to other women at the start of the marriage are not real. They are," a campaign official told media outlets. "He's frustrated by the sensationalization of several private facts relayed by a former confidante to journalists."
• "Amy and I went through something hard — because of me. We did the work, and I'm grateful for her every hour of every day," Platner said in a statement Sunday.
• "Being married is hard," his wife, Amy Gertner, said. "Being newly married is hard. Being newly married and going through infertility is hard. Being newly married, going through infertility, and a Senate campaign is hard."