Democrat blasted by left and right after softening stance on scandal-hit Maine candidate

A House Democrat drew backlash from across the political spectrum after appearing to soften his criticism of Graham Platner, Democrats’ presumptive Maine Senate nominee.

Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., initially sparked outrage on the left when he denounced Platner’s Nazi-linked tattoo and said, “I hope Maine voters agree with me.” 

But after clarifying he was not endorsing Platner’s opponent, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine — while also backing away from his earlier call for Maine voters to oppose Platner — Auchincloss found himself under fire from both sides.

Platner has faced mounting scrutiny since disclosing last year that he once had a black skull-and-crossbones tattoo, which he said he got while drinking on leave during a Marine deployment in Croatia and did not recognize at the time as a Nazi symbol.

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“Susan Collins is a rubber stamp for the worst admin in history. Claims that I would endorse her, implicitly or otherwise, ignore my track record supporting Democrats to take back both chambers,” Auchincloss wrote on social media Tuesday. “As I said months ago, I find Platner’s Nazi tattoo and his commentary about it personally disqualifying. If it were me, I’d vote for someone else in the Maine Democratic primary.”

“Regardless of what happens in Maine, Democrats need to take back the Senate, and I’ll keep working hard to make it happen,” he added. 

Leftist journalist Peter Beinart griped, “This is totally incoherent. The race is between Platner and Collins.”

“If @JakeAuch opposes them both, then he doesn’t care if Maine elects a Democratic senator,” he went on. “And if he doesn’t care if Maine elects a Democratic senator, he doesn’t care very much about Democrats taking the Senate.”

Progressive commentator Rachel Bitecofer mocked Auchincloss, a Jewish Democrat, for focusing on Platner’s tattoo resembling a Nazi design instead of discussing what she described as “actual policy Nazis” in the Republican Party.

“We need to take back the Senate, but don’t vote for the D because I want to pretend a tattoo and not positions make him a Nazi while we are facing actual policy Nazis,” Bitecofer wrote.

Tommy Vietor, a Platner ally and co-host of the influential Democratic Party-aligned podcast “Pod Save America,” questioned whether Auchincloss’ objections to Platner could be solved by having a heart-to-heart with him.

“Have you called or met with him to discuss it?” Vietor said.

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Conservatives, meanwhile, accused Auchincloss of caving to the left after his initial criticism of Platner.

“It only took 24 hours for you to bend the knee to the Nazi tattoo guy?” Will Chamberlain, senior counsel at the Trump-aligned Article III Project, wrote on social media. “Your ancestors are rolling in their graves.”

“You’re a real profile in courage, dude,” Republican communicator Tim Murtaugh said of Auchincloss.

Conservative journalist Curtis Houck mockingly wrote, “Well, well, well, look who’s back with their tail between their knees.”

Houck compared Auchincloss’ comments to Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., who similarly faced backlash after breaking with Democrats on transgender issues following the 2024 election.

Moulton has since pivoted to toeing the party line on transgender rights amid his Senate run in deep-blue Massachusetts.

Fox News Digital reached out to Auchincloss for comment before publication.

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Auchincloss was among a handful of Democrats to call on Platner to exit the Democratic primary after the Senate hopeful disclosed his Nazi-linked tattoo on an episode of “Pod Save America” in October 2025. 

The far-left candidate backed by Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee after Gov. Janet Mills, D-Maine, suspended her campaign ahead of the June 9 primary.

Platner, 41, wore the tattoo for nearly two decades after getting it in 2007 while inebriated with fellow Marines in Split, Croatia.

He has since covered up the design and has repeatedly claimed he was not aware of the symbol’s Nazi origins. 

CNN and Jewish Insider reported that Platner knew about the design’s affiliation with the Nazi SS.

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Platner has come under fierce criticism for since-deleted Reddit posts as recently as 2021 in which he called himself a communist, said White rural Americans are “actually” racist and stupid and argued that all law enforcement officials are “bastards,” among other deleted messages.

He also discussed masturbating in portable toilets and mocked a Purple Heart recipient who was shot multiple times in combat in since-deleted posts, Fox News Digital first reported.

Collins is widely viewed as the most vulnerable GOP incumbent running for re-election and the battleground race is likely a must-win for Democrats if they are to retake Senate control during the midterm elections.