‘In this ’til the end’: Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner on refusing to quit amid furor over ‘Nazi’ tattoo

Platner's populist campaign faces backlash over past comments and a contentious tattoo

On a recent Monday night, Graham Platner - oysterman, army veteran and Democratic hopeful for US Senate - took the stage in a small Maine town known for its oyster farming to assure voters that he was still in the game to win the Democratic primary, and ultimately unseat five-term Republican incumbent Susan Collins.

He addressed a crowd of 700, the most that could fit into the school gymnasium in Damariscotta, Maine before organizers had to start turning people away. As is typical for his campaign events, the gruff, plain-talking, flannel-clad, local business owner and former marine dissected the establishment political system that serves the interests of the ultra wealthy" in front of a captivated audience.