Augusta, Maine – Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner insisted that newly-surfaced allegations of physical abuse and "unsettling" behavior towards a former partner are "simply not true."

Platner's denials came hours after the New York Times published allegations that he had behaved in a "toxic" manner in relationships and had been regularly drunk, unfaithful, and in one case physically threatening.

The NYT interviewed seven former partners, four of whom described Platner as "a decent guy" who was fun, caring, and safe. Three others described him as "volatile" and at times "unsettling."

"He was a great boyfriend… He was super kind, very nice, fun," said Caroline Lemp, who dated Platner in 2013 and described him as a "gentle giant." She admitted he was struggling with PTSD following his military service, but said she never felt unsafe.

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Lyndsey Fifield, who dated Platner from 2013 to 2015, told the NYT that he displayed signs of being "cavalierly contemptuous of women's emotions."

At times – especially when they'd been drinking – she described feeling afraid and unsafe. While she noted that he "never hit me, he never punched me," she said he was physically rough with her.

Fifield accused him of grabbing her by the shoulders and at one point pulling her out of a cab by the wrist after an argument. At one point, she says he twisted her arm behind her back and shoved her into a bedroom. He then held the door closed behind her until she was "calm."

Fifield also accused Platner of lying about not knowing a tattoo on the chest was a prominent Nazi symbol, telling the NYT that he once referred to it as "my Totenkopf."

The NYT reviewed text messages, interviewed associates, and read Fifield's old diary entries, but could not corroborate accusations of physical altercations.

"There are some allegations in this piece that are simply not true," Platner told MS NOW's Chris Hayes on Thursday during a live television interview.

"Anything alleging physicality, anything alleging that I knew what my tattoo was, these are the statements of somebody politically motivated," he continued. "That is not true."

In a statement to the Times, Platner's campaign said "Let's be very clear: This is a lifelong GOP operative who's dedicated her career to electing Republicans."

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Fifield is a Republican activist who spent nearly seven years working for the Heritage Foundation, the far-right think tank behind Project 2025. She also worked for Nikki Haley during her Republican presidential campaign.

She is currently affiliated with Independent Women, a conservative group which has been supportive of incumbent GOP Senator for Maine Susan Collins, Platner's main competitor in the 2026 midterm elections.

Additionally, Fifield co-founded the group Ladies for Kavanaugh to voice support for Brett Kavanaugh's ascension to US Supreme Court, despite allegations of sexual assault.

"I know it looks like a bitter ex-girlfriend Republican trying to take down a Democrat – it has nothing to do with that," Fifield said in response to the Platner campaign's comments. "If he was running as a Republican, I would be doing this exact same thing."

"In this piece, there's a lot about my struggling, not being a good boyfriend, certainly self-medicating with alcohol," Platner told Hayes.

"I've been very upfront since the beginning of this campaign that it was a pretty dark period of my life after I came back from my combat service," he said. "There are things in this that I absolutely will take responsibility for."