Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer would share no details Tuesday afternoon of his meeting earlier in the day with Graham Platner — the embattled candidate for a Maine Senate seat who was not the New York Democrat’s first choice for challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
“I met with Graham Platner today,” Schumer told reporters at his weekly news conference. “We’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.”
Schumer’s comments came as Platner faces a litany of potentially damaging scandals, the latest involving revelations he exchanged sexual text messages with other women while he was married. Schumer initially backed Maine Gov. Janet Mills as his choice to take on Collins.
Mills suspended her campaign in April, prompting Schumer and others to endorse Platner, an oysterman with populist appeal, but over the weekend insisted she never actually withdrew or dropped out of the race, allowing her name to remain on the primary election ballot.
Schumer did not respond directly to questions about whether he prefers Platner or Mills to run at this point.