Dem senators deflect questions on Platner's scandal-plagued campaign: 'Not following that race close

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Dem senators deflect questions on Platner's scandal-plagued campaign: 'Not following that race closely'
Dem Senators Durbin, Booker and Welch all said they aren't focused on the race to unseat Susan Collins in 2026
By Leo Briceno Fox News
Published May 22, 2026 7:00am EDT | Updated May 22, 2026 7:14am EDT

Democratic senators largely avoided answering questions about Graham Platner, the controversial candidate in Maine looking to unseat Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and his many off-color comments that have resurfaced in recent months.

Most Democrats told Fox News Digital they aren’t focused on the Maine contest.

"I’m not following that race closely," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Fox News Digital earlier this week when approached about Platner.

The comments — and in many cases, silence — from Democratic lawmakers have done little to clarify whether lawmakers see Platner’s past remarks on sexual abuse, race and terror as a meaningful threat to his Senate candidacy.

It’s a seat Democrats believe presents a ripe opportunity; a chance to knock off a moderate Republican in a Democratic-leaning state. Should Platner take the nomination, Democrats will have to hope his colorful past won’t turn enough voters away to inadvertently hand Collins a sixth term.

Collins, who first took the seat in 1997, last won re-election in 2021 in a 51.0% to 42.4% victory over Democratic challenger Sara Gideon, a state legislator.

Among other resurfaced comments, Platner in one Reddit post once blamed rape victims for failing to protect themselves.

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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem-senators-deflect-questions-platners-scandal-plagued-campaign-not-following

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WATCH: Wesley Hunt flips script on Dems' 'Jim Crow 2.0' attacks amid heated SPLC racism hearing
The Texas Republican pointed to a split image of segregation-era scenes alongside modern voting at a Wednesday hearing
By Charles Creitz Fox News
Published May 21, 2026 4:00pm EDT

A Black Republican congressman excoriated Democrats and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for allegedly perpetuating racist tropes he said had long faded while recounting how his father endured true bigotry in ways far worse than what Americans experience today.

Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, joined a House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday examining the role the SPLC allegedly played in "distorting civil rights policy" by funneling money to racist and extremist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and whether that funding elevated extremist threats in America.

Hunt began his remarks by noting the idea du jour in the "Democrat hive" is that "Jim Crow 2.0 is alive and well in America" as he sat beside a split image of a Black man standing near a "Colored" sign and a person handing over identification to poll workers.

"I’m sure some of the SPLC’s actions have helped them make this argument," he said before turning to retired Vanderbilt law and political science professor Carol Swain — who is also Black — and asking her if she experienced any true "Jim Crow" treatment when she last voted in Tennessee.

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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watch-wesley-hunt-flips-script-dems-jim-crow-20-attacks-amid-heated-splc-racism-hearing