Sen. Brian Schatz offers first show of support for scandal-ridden Graham Platner

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) is set to help rally donors for Graham Platner on Sunday — a major show of support from a top establishment figure for the embattled Maine Senate candidate.

Schatz is listed as the special guest at a “virtual pre-primary event in support of Graham Platner,” according to two donors familiar with the event and an invitation obtained by POLITICO. Tickets range from $100 to $7,000, the maximum allowed contribution, for the Sunday evening event, per the invite.

The invitation was circulated to donors on Friday afternoon, as Platner continued to face an onslaught of criticism from fellow Democrats over a series of scandals. A person from Schatz’s campaign, granted anonymity to discuss internal planning, said the event had been planned a few weeks prior.

The event is the first public stamp of approval from Schatz, who has not endorsed Platner previously. Making it even more notable is Schatz’s status as a rising leader in the party: He is currently deputy conference secretary and chief deputy whip for the Senate Democratic Caucus, and he has secured the votes — and Chuck Schumer’s endorsement — to take over the No. 2 role next year.

The person from Schatz's campaign said the senator had given money to Platner’s campaign in May after he became the presumptive nominee, part of a practice of donating to battleground Democrats who clear their fields. (Donations from that time have not yet been disclosed in campaign finance reports.)

One person close to Platner’s campaign, granted anonymity to share private details, confirmed the event and that the senator had not formally backed Platner yet.

Schatz’s presence is the latest signal that Senate Democrats are standing by Platner as he weathers a series of scandals.

Last week, news broke that Platner had sent sexually explicit texts to other women while married. Then, on Thursday, the New York Times reported new allegations of violent and disturbing behavior toward ex-girlfriends. One of them said the Democrat knew about his tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol when he got it done, despite his saying otherwise.

Platner has denied the claims. He is poised to lock up the Democratic nomination against GOP Sen. Susan Collins in Maine in Tuesday’s primary as the sole major candidate remaining and said he has “not once” considered dropping out.

His campaign on Friday announced that it had raised more than $200,000 since the Times story was published, calling it the best day of fundraising since Democratic Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign.