Just days ahead of Tuesday’s Maine Democratic primary, frontrunner Graham Platner is facing scrutiny following a wave of personal allegations. While Platner remains the presumptive nominee to challenge longtime incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins in November, the controversy has triggered declines in his prediction market standing and reshaped the landscape for national Democrats regarding his general election viability.

Despite this, there are several signs that Platner’s campaign to unseat Collins in this year's midterm is far from dead.

Platner's Allegations

On Thursday, The New York Times reported Platner’s ex-girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield’s allegations that he repeatedly grabbed her by the shoulders during arguments and once twisted her arm behind her back and locked her in a room. Platner has repeatedly called those allegations of violence untrue.

Other ex-girlfriends interviewed by the Times described positive experiences, while some said he was volatile and insulting. That story came days after The Wall Street Journal and the Times reported he had exchanged sexually explicit messages on the messaging app Kik with several women while married.

Platner, a Marine Corps combat veteran with multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and a local coastal Maine oyster farmer, already faced scrutiny over online posts that were dismissive of sexual assault and a Totenkopf tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol. Fifield alleged Platner knew his tattoo was associated with a Nazi symbol before it drew campaign scrutiny, saying he taught her the word for the symbol and referred to it as "my Totenkopf." Platner has apologized for the social media posts and covered up the tattoo, saying he didn’t realize its significance when he got it.

Platner’s campaign told the newspaper in a statement, "Let’s be very clear: This is a lifelong G.O.P. operative who’s dedicated her career to electing Republicans."

Following the Times' report, Fifield took to X, writing in one of the posts that the interview and story "was a setup all along," adding, "The journalists I trusted who convinced me to share a story I never wanted to tell methodically delayed and twisted this into a gift to the Platner campaign. Violating the trust of his victims."

A spokesperson for the Times previously told Newsweek in response to Fifield's criticism, “We published accounts provided by several women who were in romantic relationships with Graham Platner. Our story accurately presents each of these accounts as told to our reporters and according to our standards. We stand by our reporting of the accounts from Ms. Fifield and the other women, who provided a revealing look at the behavior of a major candidate for the U.S. Senate.”

National Democrats Maintain Their Support for Platner

No major Democratic lawmakers who supported Platner’s campaign have rescinded their support, rallying behind a candidate who is key to Democrats’ hopes of taking back control of the U.S. Senate.

Representative Ro Khanna, who joined Platner at a rally on Friday, told Margaret Brennan on CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday that he was still supporting Platner despite condemning his actions and saying he believes Fifield’s account of physically threatening behavior.

“His actions were misogynistic; they were shameful; they were wrong, but they didn’t come as a surprise to a lot of the folks in Maine,” he said. “People in Maine knew that he had had two tours of duty in Iraq. He came back broken, in a dark place."

The congressman said Platner has “taken accountability for that period of his life” and cited his platform of national health insurance, taxing billionaires and opposing the war in Iran.

“He's running on a platform of national health insurance, when Susan Collins is voting to cut it. He's talking about taxing billionaires. Susan Collins is for tax breaks to billionaires. And he's opposed to this foreign war, where Susan Collins supported the war in Iran, and that's why I'm still supporting him,” he said.

Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, has also argued Maine voters need to focus on “the important issues facing the working families of Maine and this country” and support Platner.

“People can’t afford health care. Can’t afford groceries. Can’t afford to put gas in their cars,” Sanders recently told the Associated Press.

Senator Elizabeth Warren said her focus instead remained on what Platner would do for Maine voters on the economy, while Senator Martin Heinrich said he did not believe Maine voters were focused on Platner's marriage.

Experts Weigh In

It makes sense for Democrats to rally behind Platner, Costas Panagopoulos, a professor of political science at Northeastern University, told Newsweek.

"This is a competitive race with potential for a Democratic pickup that could be crucial for Democrats to regain the majority in the Senate," he said. "Democrats will not give up so easily on their leading candidate unless there is a viable alternative that emerges or polls suggest sticking with Platner is a fool's errand. At the moment, neither of these things has materialized."

Grant Davis Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University, told Newsweek the Democrats’ strategy could backfire.

“The translation into plain English of this response is that they are waiting to see if his campaign becomes untenable, and then they will take a stand. Or they are hoping that something comes along to knock this story out of the news cycle,” Reeher said. “The problem is that I don’t think these stories are going anywhere, and the Republicans haven’t yet taken their shot, which they will after tomorrow, until November. One can only imagine what we’ll learn.”

He added: “Platner has recently demonstrated that he’s not done saying things that are problematic, as he comes under more stress. As I’ve said before, I think the party is digging itself into a moral hole on this race, which it will have a hard time climbing out of.”

Voters Not Walking Away

On the ground in Maine, there are also indications that voters are reluctant to abandon Platner, though some are concerned about whether more controversies could emerge before November's election.

Khanna said on Face the Nation the voters he has met “don’t like” the allegations but said they are “willing to extend him grace and redemption, and they're focused now on what he's running for.”

Some Democratic voters in Maine have said they are shaken by the latest allegations, but will continue to support him because they see him as the party's best shot at unseating Collins.

"What else are we going to do with this stage in the game? I feel like his political mission is sincere, and that's what I'm voting for,” Nancy Jacobson, a Bangor resident, told ABC News on Saturday.

"At this point, I'm holding my support for him in place," Sarina Brooks, a lifelong Mainer and mental health therapist who identifies as a Democrat, told the outlet. "I do always hold the right to change my mind at this point, but I still support him. I stand behind what he stands for. For me, I think that he is still our best option, but we will wait and see how things pan out."

Platner was greeted by an enthusiastic and supportive crowd at a town hall-style event in Maine on Sunday, further indicating that for many, the priority remains defeating Collins.

Attendees avoided asking about Platner’s past at that event, opting instead to ask him about the U.S. Supreme Court, what committees he would want to work on in the Senate and whether he supports a federal wealth tax.

And at Friday’s rally with Khanna, he received a standing ovation and declared that Mainers “have my back.”

Prediction Markets Have Rebounded

Platner’s chances of defeating Collins dropped to a record low on the prediction market Kalshi on Friday. And while recent polls had him leading, the latest poll, conducted by a Republican pollster after the reports about the sexually explicit messages emerged but before the latest report by the Times was published, indicated his lead over Collins had narrowed.

But perhaps the clearest sign of the resilience of Platner’s campaign comes from activity on prediction markets.

Democrats’ chances of winning the Senate race plummeted to 52 percent on Kalshi, a regulated U.S. prediction market, after the Times’ Thursday report—the lowest since Platner entered the race last year. Collins’ chances of retaining the seat jumped to 48 percent on Thursday.

But just a few days later, the ground had shifted once again. As of early Monday morning, the Democratic Party’s chances of winning the race were 59 percent on Kalshi, while Republicans’ chances are now 41 percent.

Meanwhile, Sabato's Crystal Ball classifies Maine's Senate race as a "toss-up."

While Platner’s odds on the prediction platform are still lower than before the latest reports emerged, the recent uptick indicates traders believe Platner could weather the storm.