Platner's campaign has spent over $2.3 million since July, new filings show, much of it toward reimbursing those who powered his ascent.
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A discarded Graham Platner mailer is seen on the side of Main Street in Lewiston in July. (Libby Kamrowski Kenny/Staff Photographer)
Graham Platner’s U.S. Senate campaign fell apart in a matter of days. His campaign is still dishing out payments to pick up the pieces.
The then-unknown oyster farmer launched what was initially a longshot campaign in August last year. Platner’s slick online presence, military background and passionate speaking style powered him to an overwhelming primary victory over Gov. Janet Mills — a feat that seemed impossible when he jumped into the race.
The campaign galvanized support from small-dollar donors in Maine and around the country. But after Platner abruptly ended his campaign in July following a credible allegation of sexual assault from one of his former partners, which Platner vehemently denied, the campaign was left with around $1.7 million on hand.
New filings with the Federal Election Commission submitted Thursday show where that money has gone since his bid ended.
The campaign has spent over $2.3 million since July, the data shows. Much of that was used to reimburse those who powered Platner’s ascent.
Over $70,000 in small-dollar donations were refunded after Platner dropped out, the FEC filing shows, while campaign staffers cumulatively got just over $350,000 in severance pay following his withdrawal.
The largest single severance payout was just over $20,000, given to Amy Gertner: Platner’s wife. Gertner also received about $980 as a “win bonus” following the primary, as did about 30 other campaign staffers.
The severance pay was stipulated in the Platner staff’s union contract, according to a former campaign source not authorized to speak publicly. The amount given to each staffer was determined based on their tenure with the campaign. Gertner had been there since the beginning.
Neither Platner nor several other former campaign employees responded to requests for comment on the post-withdrawal expenditures.
The campaign cumulatively spent around $350,000 on consulting firms specializing in communications, fundraising, research and other areas between July and October.
About a third of the consulting spending came after Platner’s withdrawal in early July. Those payouts were the result of contracts the campaign had signed with consulting firms through Election Day, the campaign source said — though some were for a “postmortem” winding down of the campaign’s operations.
None of Platner’s leftover campaign funds have gone to his replacement in the Senate race, Troy Jackson, or any other campaigns around the country. Asked in July if he would accept an endorsement from Platner, Jackson said “It’s unfortunate, but I just don’t want it.”
Other Maine politicians with cash remaining from now-dormant campaigns have put tens of thousands of dollars toward other candidates in Maine and around the country.
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden has given contributions to about 10 other moderate Democrats in recent months after announcing he wouldn’t seek reelection this year. Sara Gideon, who still has some $2 million on hand from her failed campaign against Sen. Susan Collins in 2020, has chipped in over $375,000 to Democrats in Maine, New Hampshire and elsewhere, per her most recent FEC filing.
Platner has largely stayed out of the public eye since dropping out. He was initially slated to speak and lead a veterans’ march at a Labor Day event in Ellsworth, which would have been his first public appearance post-campaign. But Platner ultimately didn’t speak following widespread backlash.
Platner’s FEC filing indicates he still has just under $100,000 on hand.
Dylan Tusinski is an investigative reporter with the Maine Trust for Local News' quick strike team, where his stories largely focus on money, drugs and government accountability. He has written about international... More by Dylan Tusinski