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Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., dodged questions when asked whether he stood by Graham Platner, the embattled Maine Democrat whose Senate bid has become too big for his party to ignore and too messy for some Democrats to rally behind.
Schiff declined to answer when asked by Fox News Digital whether he was still supporting Platner, despite the Senate candidate being embroiled in multiple controversies.
“I’m going to an interview upstairs,” he responded.
Schiff later told CNN that he would “wait to learn more about these recent allegations involving his texting other women.”
SANDERS SAYS PLATNER HAS THE ‘GUTS’ TO FIGHT BILLIONAIRES DESPITE GROWING SCANDAL PILEUP
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., participates in votes in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.)
“Ultimately, though it’s going to be up to Maine voters what they decide how important or unimportant that is, and how important to focus on the economy, cost of living,” Schiff said. “And those issues are, but I’m going to wait until I know more about what just came out in the last 24, 48 hours to really say more about it.”
Schiff, like several other Democrats, has not officially endorsed Platner.
Others appear more willing to stomach the seemingly ever-growing list of scandals attached to the scandal-plagued candidate.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., who similarly has not officially endorsed Platner, wants to flip the Senate.
“I’m supporting all Democrats,” Alsobrooks told Fox News Digital.
DEMOCRATS BREAK WITH SCANDAL-PLAGUED GRAHAM PLATNER, WARN OF ‘CIVIL WAR’ IN PARTY
“I don’t know him. Honestly, I’ve never met him,” she continued. “What I do know is that I’m supporting Democrats. We need Democrats in office to fight back against Donald Trump, and I’m supporting them.”
The reckoning among Democrats comes months after the start of Platner’s public relations woes, which began when video surfaced of him sporting a totenkopf, or death’s head tattoo, on his chest — a symbol of the Nazi war machine from World War II.
The dam broke in recent weeks, with old Reddit posts resurfacing in which Platner waxes on veterans, sexual assault and other topics. He’s also embroiled in a sexting scandal and was most recently found to have a profile on the controversial Kik platform.
Now he’s coming to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to hold a confab with Senate Democrats.
PLATNER STILL HAS ACTIVE ACCOUNT ON ANONYMOUS APP DUBBED ‘PREDATOR’S PARADISE’ AMID CHEATING SCANDAL
Graham Platner, Democratic Senate candidate for Maine, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, attend a Fighting Oligarchy event in Portland, Maine, on May 25, 2026. (Sophie Park/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
His most vocal supporter in the Senate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., argued that the deluge of scandals was because of Platner’s stance against billionaires.
“What we’re looking at right now is a situation where billionaires have already pledged to spend $90 million in a tiny state like Maine,” Sanders said. “Trust me, that is a lot of money. They don’t want him in.”
Others who have backed him, including Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., aren’t cutting the candidate loose.
Meanwhile, Republicans aren’t letting the moment pass to go after Platner in defense of their colleague and longtime incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
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Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital what he believed voters thought of the insurgent candidate.
“Here’s how I think most fair-minded Americans view Mr. Platner. They think that Jesus loves him but, in their opinion, he’s an idiot,” Kennedy said.
