Military historian, classicist, and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution Victor Davis Hanson reacted to Graham Platner's overwhelming victory in Tuesday night's Democratic primary, which sets up a November showdown with incumbent Sen. Susan Collins.
Despite a series of controversies, including allegations of domestic abuse, lewd acts in a porta-potty, sexting scandals, and other incidents, Platner secured the nomination. Hanson questioned how viable Platner's candidacy would remain over the next five months, particularly after Platner assured Senate Democrats in Washington, D.C., that his campaign would not be overshadowed by scandal.
Hanson suggested that additional controversies will no doubt emerge before Election Day and speculated that Democrats may ultimately be forced to distance themselves from their nominee, even as many continue to defend him.
Victor Davis Hanson says Democrats are growing nervous about Graham Platner, predicting more scrutiny and disclosures as the campaign moves deeper into the election season pic.twitter.com/x5NFRh8TAB
— Sean Hannity 🇺🇸 (@seanhannity) June 10, 2026
"The real question is, how viable are these people going to be in about five months?" Hanson asked. "That's a long time in politics. In the case of Platner, he said that he's told, just recently, three lies. He said there are no more disclosures, he never used physical force against a woman or threatened them physically, and he said that he had no idea what the Totenkopf tattoo meant."
"All those were quickly revealed to be lies, and we're not even into July, August, or September, so I think there's a lot there that's going to come out, and I think that's why the Democratic Party is terrified of some of these candidates, because they haven't really exposed them yet because they didn't know whether they're going to win the primaries or not," he added. "But now that they're there, they're going to really face scrutiny that they've never been examined in that way before."
This comes as prominent figures on the left, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), have rallied behind Platner despite his long list of controversies. For many progressives, his policy positions and commitment to their political agenda appear to outweigh concerns about his character and personal conduct. Thus far, his views have proven more important to many on the left than the allegations and scandals surrounding him, a reality reflected in his overwhelming primary victory Tuesday night.
Whether that dynamic will shift remains unclear, but given the honorability of the office he seeks, we can only hope it will.