Ronald Holmes III has left his position as national finance director for the campaign of U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner of Maine, WMTW-TV reported. Holmes announced that he was leaving the campaign because his "standards as a campaign professional no longer fully aligned with those of the campaign."
Platner, an oyster farmer, has positioned himself in the Democratic primary but has already hit some snags. The latest comes after Holmes abruptly announced that he was leaving the "Graham for Maine" campaign in a post to the professional networking site LinkedIn.
"I joined this campaign because I believed in building something different — a campaign of fresh energy, integrity, and reform-minded thinking in a political system that often resists exactly those things. Somewhere along the way, I began to feel that my professional standards as a campaign professional no longer fully aligned with those of the campaign," Holmes said in his post.
"I'm proud of the people who showed up with good hearts and clear purpose and the lessons that came with the work," he added. Losing Holmes is just the tip of the iceberg of problems Platner is facing.
Holmes is only the latest insider to abandon what appears to be a sinking ship. On Oct. 17, former Maine Rep. Genevieve McDonald left her job as the political director for the campaign following resurfaced Reddit posts crafted by Platner that attacked rural White Americans and slammed police.
As Politico reported, this trouble triggered the campaign to send out non-disclosure agreements to staffers, including McDonald. “The campaign offered me $15,000 to sign an NDA. I did not accept the offer. I certainly could have used the money. I quit my job to work on Platner’s campaign, believing it was something different than it is," McDonald told Politico.
This explaination from McDonald sounds shoickingly similar to the way Holmes described their parting. Unfortunately, the scandal has grown after additional posts came to light that he ridiculed the tipping culture of Black Americans and downplayed sexual assaults in the military.
Platner continued to experience personnel issues as recently as last Tuesday. His campaign manager, Kevin Brown, left his post after discovering that he and his wife were expecting a child, though the issues surrounding the campaign couldn't have helped. Prior to leaving, Brown had only served in the campaign position for a week.
As difficult as these changes have been for the campaign, arguably the worst scandal has to do with Platner's tattoo that contains a Nazi symbol. He has tried to explain it away as a drunken impulse, but the scandal is far from over.
According to Fox News, the controversy about Platner's tattoo erupted after old social media posts revealed the skull and crossbones design that was used by Nazi officers. The candidate said that he didn't know the origin of the design when he got the tattoo in Croatia in 2007, following a "night of drinking" while he was in the Marine Corps.
"We thought it looked cool," Platner claimed. He said he's "lived a life dedicated to anti-fascism, anti-racism and anti-Nazism" and was therefore "appalled" to find out its true origin. Platner shared the story in a video uploaded to X, formerly Twitter, on Oct. 22.
"Years ago I got a skull and crossbones tattoo with my buddies in the Marine Corps. I was appalled to learn it closely resembled a Nazi symbol. I altered it yesterday, into something that isn't deeply offensive to my core beliefs. I am very sorry to all of you who had to contemplate a symbol of hate over the past 48 hours," Platner explained in the caption.
Years ago I got a skull and crossbones tattoo with my buddies in the Marine Corps.
I was appalled to learn it closely resembled a Nazi symbol. I altered it yesterday, into something that isn't deeply offensive to my core beliefs.
I am very sorry to all of you who had to… pic.twitter.com/RQSiRsrTiC
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) October 22, 2025
Democrats have largely been silent on this controversy, but it seems Platner is unable to stop the momentum, even with the establishment remaining silent. Only time will tell whether Platner can ride this out, but it isn't looking good, and certainly won't serve him if he makes it to the general election.
