A pro-union bill making its way through Congress with Republican support faces opposition from Christian business leaders who argue it could be used to advance a pro-abortion and transgender agenda without the consent of workers or employers.
The <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5408/text" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Faster Labor Contracts Act</a>, which passed the House last week with support from 210 Democrats and 20 Republicans, stipulates that either side in a labor dispute may request federal mediation after a 90 day period. If an agreement is not reached within 30 days of federal mediation, the conflict goes to a 3-person arbitration panel that is then empowered to impose labor contracts that can be binding on the parties for up to two years.
The Senate version of the bill is sponsored by outspoken social conservative Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) who says that the bill will help workers assert their rights against woke corporations. But according to the Christian Employers Alliance, the bill could have significant <a href="https://x.com/JoinCEANow/status/2064348783203508259" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ramifications</a> for religious workers and employees.
The organization, which successfully <a href="https://adflegal.org/case/christian-employers-alliance-v-us-equal-employment-opportunity-commission-i/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">defeated</a> a Biden-era mandate for employers to pay for transgender procedures, sent a letter to House lawmakers last week urging them to oppose the measure. They say that the bill would allow arbiters to embed woke provisions into binding contracts without final consent from workers or employers.
“Christian employers are increasingly concerned that collective bargaining agreements are being used to advance provisions involving abortion coverage, gender-transition procedures, DEI mandates, pronoun policies, and other ideological requirements that directly implicate matters of conscience and religious belief,” Christian Employers Alliance President Margaret Iuculano told lawmakers in a letter obtained by The Daily Wire.
Iuculano told The Daily Wire that her organization is not opposed to the measure because it directly mandates any of the policies in question, but because of the binding arbitration provision that kicks in after 120 days if the two sides can&#8217;t make an agreement.
&#8220;Because the legislation relies on binding arbitration to impose first contracts when negotiations fail, provisions of this nature could become part of an arbitrator-imposed agreement without the consent of either the employer or the employees,&#8221; she told The Daily Wire. &#8220;For Christian employers, that raises serious concerns about religious liberty, conscience protections, healthcare freedom, and the ability of faith-based organizations to govern their workplaces consistent with their sincerely held beliefs.&#8221;
A Hawley spokesman told The Daily Wire that these objections were “absurd” and a way for big business to target the proposal.
“These absurd allegations about a strong bill to protect working people just show that giant corporations are desperate to kill legislation that would help American workers while they invest billions in DEI insanity,” a Hawley spokesman said. “Senator Hawley’s bill aims to put a shot clock on labor negotiations to stop corporations like Amazon from dragging their feet after workers win a vote to unionize fair and square.”
Hawley’s spokesman said that existing federal law protected religious employers.
“Federal law already shields religious employers, and under this bill any third-party arbitrators are mutually chosen by the bargaining parties, not by the government,” the spokesman said.
The terms imposed by the bill would allow the union and the employer to select one representative for arbitration. They would then have an opportunity to select a third arbitrator agreed to by both sides. If they can not agree on a third party within 14 days, the federal government would put in place the third person.
The Senate version is cosponsored by Republican Senators Roger Marshall (KS) and Bernie Moreno (Ohio) alongside 14 Democratic lawmakers.
Opponents of the bill argue that unions have historically promoted left-wing social policies, policies that could be imposed during the arbitration process.
For example, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the unions supporting the legislation, once <a href="https://teamster.org/2019/11/teamsters-lgbtq-caucus-holds-annual-meeting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">promoted</a> a “Pride at Work” guidance <a href="https://teamster.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/caucuslgbtqprideatwork.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">document</a> steeped in transgender ideology that features the so-called “gender-bread person.”
The document features a section called “Five Reasons LGBTQ Working People Need a Union,” including that “people in unions help ensure LGBTQ working people have their healthcare needs met,” including “gender confirmation surgery.”
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<div id="attachment_1118015" style="width: 1526px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1118015" class="wp-image-1118015 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-17-at-9.42.55-AM.png" alt="" width="1516" height="962" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-17-at-9.42.55-AM.png 1516w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-17-at-9.42.55-AM-300x190.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-17-at-9.42.55-AM-908x576.png 908w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-17-at-9.42.55-AM-768x487.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1516px) 100vw, 1516px" />Teamster handout</div>
Some affiliate groups, such as the Teamsters Local 117 in Washington, proudly <a href="https://www.teamsters117.org/abortion_rights_are_worker_rights" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declare</a> that “abortion rights are worker rights.”
“In America today, I cannot think of a single healthcare procedure that elected officials have used the legislative process to take choice away from men. Abortion rights are worker’s rights. The labor movement must take a critical stand and continue the fight for equal access to healthcare for all its members,” the union said after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
Kara Deniz, the assistant director of communications for the Teamsters, argued that complaints about abortion and transgender funding were attempts by companies to &#8220;misdirect&#8221; about the legislation.
&#8220;This is a complete misdirection to basically facilitate their goal to try to stampede and block a bill that is having tremendous bipartisan support. Republicans and Democrats are supporting this bill,&#8221; she told The Daily Wire. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think they even have those concerns. To be quite honest, I think that these &#8216;concerns&#8217; are being brought up on behalf of the corporations.&#8221;
Deniz said the goal of the Teamsters was to cut down on the lengthy negotiating process and would not impact the issues of abortion or transgenderism.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s very unchristian to stand in the way of such legislation when it&#8217;s going to help people afford to live, and afford to be able to have a contract, and to not get hurt and injured on the job and be unsafe for 460 plus days because the employer refuses to give a contract,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I think that&#8217;s incredibly unchristian.&#8221;
The AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the United States, has created model collective bargaining language demanding healthcare coverage for abortion and transgender procedures, including from out-of-state providers.
“All health plans offered to bargaining unit members shall cover comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care services, including contraceptives, abortion services (procedural and pharmaceutical), and gender-affirming care,” the <a href="https://aflcio.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/Abortion%20Model%20CBA%20Language.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">model language</a> says.
Similarly, the Service Employees International Union has called for local unions to bargain for so-called trans-inclusive healthcare.
Thomas Beck, a labor lawyer who previously served on the Federal Labor Relations Authority, said that the worries of organizations like the Christian Employers Alliance are legitimate.
“I think it&#8217;s absolutely a concern,” he told The Daily Wire, noting the track record of unions pushing for abortion and transgender coverage. “They&#8217;re all proudly staking out these very progressive positions on some of the highest profile social issues of our time. And essentially they&#8217;re making it clear that they want to argue for these protections in collective bargaining agreements.”
Beck believes that arbitrators would see abortion coverage or transgender procedure coverage as an easy win to hand unions and that the end result of the legislation would lead to a binding government regulation imposed via arbitration.
Vinnie Vernuccio, the president of the Institute for the American Worker, said one problem with the legislation is that union members did not get a final vote on the labor contract with it went to arbitration.
“It&#8217;s going a bridge way too far to say the remedy for contract negotiations taking too long is to invite government bureaucrats and take away the ability of workers to vote on a contract,” he told The Daily Wire.
Hawley’s spokesman said the broader objections to the bill were a cloak for woke corporations to oppose worker-friendly legislation. The spokesman noted that employers get to be part of the process in selecting the representatives to oversee arbitration.
“It’s ironic that some of the biggest opponents of this legislation also promote the trans flag on their websites. Senator Hawley is fighting for the American worker, rather than the same Big Business who stands with the radical left to push woke, transgender ideology,” the spokesman said.
When asked about concerns with the bill, Reagan McCarthy, a spokeswoman for Moreno, told The Daily Wire that the senator was “proud to be a part of the legislative effort to protect working families. Working class Americans helped elect President Trump, and Republicans must be the party of workers, not Wall Street.”
Some corporations have moved to push for abortion coverage without union pressure. Corporate giants like Amazon, Apple, and JPMorgan all came forward after the Roe decision and announced that they would pay for women to travel to end the life of their unborn child.
Before passing, the proposal likely would have to go before the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee, which could be an uphill battle with Republican control of the committee. It would also need to pick up around ten more Republican supporters to get past the filibuster and would need President Donald Trump&#8217;s signature.

Motor City Pride Parade

Republicans And Union Allies Could Force Abortion On Christian Employers, Critics Warn

Abortion

Josh Hawley

Labor Unions

Senate

transgender surgery

Editor’s Note: This story contains graphic content and language.
***
This is not how I usually start an article, but stop reading if you don’t want a peek inside the demented mind of Graham Platner, the Maine man whom the Democrat Party wants to send to the Senate.
Platner posted the following joke on Reddit in October 2014. Platner has scrubbed the internet of most of his social media commentary, but all of the posts on Reddit were <a href="https://themainemonitor.org/platner-reddit-comments/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">archived</a> by The Maine Monitor.
Writing as P-Hustle, Platner responded to a prompt on Reddit asking for “the most f*cked up, jaw-dropping, offensive joke you know?”
Platner responded with his version of a joke.
“I was eating out my grandmother and it tasted like horse cum,” Platner wrote. “So that’s how she died…”
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The post, while shocking, is not surprising. Other Platner posts on the online chat forum include an admission that he feels the urge to masturbate every time he sits in a porta-potty.
“I still have to jerk off every time I sit in a portash*tter … that blue water smell conditioned me,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/deeply-disturbing-dem-candidates-sexually-explicit-porta-potty-posts-resurface" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> in March 2017 in a thread on nostalgic military smells.
Platner, in another post, described graffiti of a penis as “beautiful,” “engorged and veiny,” and moving “towards its penetrative glory.”
Platner has deleted his nearly 2,000 comments on Reddit, where sexually explicit posts were only part of the problem. He had also <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/16/politics/kfile-graham-platner-maine-senate-candidate-deleted-reddit-posts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">laid out </a>how he “became a communist” on the forum, and <a href="https://jewishinsider.com/2026/04/graham-platner-praise-hamas-killed-israeli-soldiers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">praised</a> Hamas for its military tactics, saying, “I dig it.”
In another post, he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/purple-heart-hero-rips-graham-platner-for-mocking-his-war-wounds" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> a Purple Heart recipient didn’t “deserve to live.”
The Daily Wire has also reported that Platner had an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/see-it-graham-platner-has-active-profile-on-predators-paradise-messaging-app" target="_blank" rel="noopener">account on Kik</a>, a platform notorious for enabling sexual predators.
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<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1121457" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-23-at-1.18.12-PM-1024x475.png" alt="" width="1024" height="475" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-23-at-1.18.12-PM-1024x475.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-23-at-1.18.12-PM-300x139.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-23-at-1.18.12-PM-768x356.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-23-at-1.18.12-PM-1536x712.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-23-at-1.18.12-PM.png 1588w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
His account, similarly named “Phustle0331,” features a profile picture of Platner in just a towel, with his phone used to cover the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ex-girlfriends-say-platner-lied-about-nazi-tattoo-detail-disturbing-behavior" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nazi tattoo</a> on his chest.
The account on Kik, which has been described as a “predator’s paradise” by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, was revealed amid reports that Platner’s own wife had told his campaign that he’d exchanged sexually explicit text messages with multiple women.
Platner earlier this month coasted to victory in Maine’s Democratic primary, officially beating out Maine Governor Janet Mills for the slot. He will face Republican incumbent Susan Collins in the general election, attempting to end her nearly three-decade hold on the Senate seat.
Platner remains ahead in the RealClearPolitics polling average, though polling has tightened since he became the nominee.
Platner did not respond to a request for comment on his Reddit post.

Maine Senatorial Candidate Graham Platner Speaks To Voters During Town Hall

Read Graham Platner’s Demented Joke About Bestiality, Necrophilia, And Incest

Democrats

graham platner

Maine

Reddit

Texas Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico recently suggested that the November election will not be “free and fair.” But when in a position to improve election integrity in his state, Talarico said he hated the effort with “every fiber of my being.&#8221;
As a state lawmaker, Talarico was one of the Democrats who fled the state after a Republican-backed effort in 2021 to require proof of identity when voting by mail and increasing the oversight of poll watchers. After Democrats failed to block passage of the bill, Talarico called the election safeguards “voter suppression” and said he hated the proposal.
Five years later, Talarico says he is worried that he will have to overperform to beat Republican Ken Paxton in a critical Senate race because he does not think the election will be held under &#8220;free and fair&#8221; conditions. But he has historically fought measures that would ensure secure elections.
Talarico described the 2021 Texas election integrity bill that tightened up mail-in voting as “an immoral, anti-American, anti-Democratic bill,” adding that it was “one that I hate with every fiber of my being.&#8221; He also critiqued the bills provisions on poll watchers and added that he didn’t think that poll watchers “should be in the polling place at all.”
Those comments were made in 2023 during an appearance on the &#8220;Lone Star Left&#8221; show unearthed by The Daily Wire. 
“We flew to D.C. to really beg national Democrats, including Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the leaders in the House and the Senate, to pass federal voting rights legislation, because that&#8217;s the only way that we were going to stop the voter suppression bill here in Texas,” Talarico said. 
After he and fellow state Democrats realized that the Senate would not void the filibuster to ram through a bill targeting state election integrity laws, they returned to Texas to weaken the proposal from Republicans. 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Representative James Talarico Chats With Michelle About The 88th Legislature" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wdZaHmXrWE8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The <a href="https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=871&amp;Bill=SB1">law</a> opposed by Talarico created uniform statewide voting hours, added a requirement for people to provide an ID number when voting by mail, ended drive-through voting, and enhanced the jurisdiction of poll watchers. 
Now running against Paxton, Talarico said he will have to overperform to get past “voter suppression” and other “shenanigans” during the November election. 
“We already have a lot of voter suppression in Texas. It&#8217;s baked into our laws. I fought fiercely against many of those laws when they were coming through the legislature,” Talarico <a href="https://x.com/BreitbartNews/status/2058891809917468884">said</a> recently. “We&#8217;re probably gonna have to win by a little more than we would normally have to in a completely free and fair election.”
Paxton has made a key plank of his campaign support for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE) Act, which would require photo identification to vote in federal elections. He promised to drop out of the Texas GOP primary if the Senate passed the SAVE Act which did not happen before he defeated incumbent Senator John Cornyn.
Talarico, for his part, has said he opposes requiring ID to vote. 
“I oppose having to have a driver’s license to vote,” he <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1939441220021051">said</a>. “I oppose voter ID. Currently it&#8217;s the law in Texas, but I opposed that law… there are a lot of Texans, currently hundreds of thousands who don’t have a driver’s license.” 
To get a driver’s license in Texas, a person must provide documentation to complete an application form, provide proof of citizenship or legal residency, proof of Texas residency, and pass a written and driving exam.
“James Talafreako is openly admitting his only path to victory in ruby red Texas is eliminating voter ID and allowing illegal aliens to vote,” GOP spokesman Zach Kraft told The Daily Wire. “MAGA Warrior Ken Paxton will slam the door on Democrats&#8217; election fraud nonsense by getting the SAVE America Act signed into law to ensure only Americans vote in our elections.”

Talarico watch party MLC 1031.jpg

Talarico Fears Election Won’t Be ‘Free And Fair.’ Here’s How He’s Fought Election Safeguards.

James Talarico

Ken Paxton

Politics

Texas

President Donald Trump endorsed Rep. Mike Collins for Senate just ahead of the Georgia Republican primary runoff election. 
Collins is set to face off on Tuesday against former Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley for the GOP nomination. The winner will take on Democrat Senator Jon Ossoff, who first took office in January 2021, in a race that could prove crucial for control of the Senate. 
“It is my Great Honor to endorse ‘MAGA’ Mike Collins, a Highly Respected Congressman who has been with me from the very beginning, and is running for the United States Senate in Georgia, a very special place to me, and where we just had a BIG Presidential Election Win with the Most Votes Received by any single Candidate in Georgia’s History, for any Election,” Trump wrote on Monday morning. “Mike is strongly supported by the most Highly Respected MAGA Patriots in Georgia and beyond, and many Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate — He is a WARRIOR and WINNER!”
The race, which featured Collins, Dooley, and Rep. Buddy Carter, moved to a runoff on May 22 after no candidate earned over 50% of the vote. Collins advanced with 40.5% of the vote while Dooley advanced with 30.2%. 
Trump first endorsed Collins on Saturday, before reiterating his support on Monday morning. 
“Mike has to beat a Republican Opponent before he gets to Ossoff,” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116746683568766400">said</a> on Saturday in his first post endorsing Collins. “I don’t know Derek Dooley, and neither does anyone else, but he seems like a nice person. Unfortunately, he has lived outside of Georgia for most of his life, didn’t vote in 2020 or 2016, and said that I lost Georgia in 2020 when, in actuality, the facts have now proven that I won by a lot!”
Dooley is backed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, who said the former football coach was “our one and only opportunity to knock Jon Ossoff off.&#8221;
Tuesday&#8217;s Georgia runoff election will also feature the Trump-endorsed Burt Jones against billionaire Rick Jackson, who has dumped millions into the race. Jones took 38.2% of the vote the first time around to Jackson&#8217;s 32.5%. 
Last month, Trump made another last-minute intervention in a GOP Senate runoff, endorsing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Senator John Cornyn. Paxton went on to solidly defeat Cornyn.

MixCollage-15-Jun-2026-09-13-AM-2163

Trump Makes Endorsement Ahead Of Critical Senate Runoff

2026 Midterms

Donald Trump

Georgia

Jon Ossoff

U.S. Politics

When a Texas jury on Tuesday sentenced 19-year-old Karmelo Anthony to 35 years in prison for murdering 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, some Democrats in the state <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jasmine-crockett-downplays-white-teens-murder-after-karmelo-anthony-convicted?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Crockett+Claims+Karmelo+Anthony%E2%80%99s+Knife+Was+Too+Small+To+Be+Considered+Deadly">raced</a> to decry the verdict, claiming the black teenager who stabbed Metcalf at a high school soccer game was a victim of racism.
But one Texas Democrat was surprisingly absent from the chattering crowds: Senate nominee James Talarico.
Talarico’s silence comes amid the candidate&#8217;s larger rebrand. It&#8217;s a different tact than both <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/beto-says-hell-yes-were-going-take-americans-guns-james-barrett">Beto O&#8217;Rourke</a> and <a href="https://freebeacon.com/elections/texas-voters-again-reject-wendy-davis/">Wendy Davis</a> before him, who latched on to every liberal issue as they cruised to crushing defeats in statewide Texas elections. As he heads into a general election fight against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Talarico is trying to convince voters he&#8217;s a moderate — and not the radical, pro-trans, anti-border security leftist that his opponents have painted him as.
Unfortunately for Talarico, his rebranding effort might fail. Because a radical leftist is precisely what he is.
Consider Talarico&#8217;s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0srbD2hn2vM&amp;t=683s">claim</a> just this week that he does not support transgender surgeries for kids. 
“I oppose gender reassignment surgeries for minors,” he said on Monday during an interview with lawyer Dan Cogdell, who asked him if he was “too liberal” for Texas. 
That stance would surprise the Talarico of just three years ago, who <a href="https://journals.house.texas.gov/HJRNL/88R/PDF/88RDAY63FINAL.PDF">voted</a> against a bill to ban transgender surgeries in Texas. The bill banned procedures like removing the breasts of girls who identify as boys.
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“What he&#8217;s doing right now with this change in his public position is he is telling the world that these surgeries are incredibly unpopular,” American Principles Project President Terry Schilling told The Daily Wire. “James Tallarico is one of the most progressive Democrats we have ever seen.”
The record from Talarico’s time in the legislature shows that during <a href="https://house.texas.gov/videos/11109">debate</a> on the measure protecting kids in the Texas state House, he claimed the proposal was about discrimination. 
“I think it&#8217;s clear that this is not about science or medicine, and certainly not about keeping kids safe,” he said on May 12, 2023. “I think this is about discriminating against people who are transgender.”
<div id="attachment_1113663" style="width: 1870px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1113663" class="size-full wp-image-1113663" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.58.07-AM.png" alt="" width="1860" height="924" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.58.07-AM.png 1860w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.58.07-AM-300x149.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.58.07-AM-1024x509.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.58.07-AM-768x382.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.58.07-AM-1536x763.png 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 1860px) 100vw, 1860px" />Talarico attacks bill to protect kids from transgender procedures.</div>
At one point during that debate, Talarico pushed for Republican Rep. Tom Oliverson, who sponsored the legislation, to add an amendment to his proposal that would allow kids to get transgender procedures if two or three doctors signed off on the proposal. Talarico also <a href="https://journals.house.texas.gov/HJRNL/88R/PDF/88RDAY63FINAL.PDF">attempted</a> to add a provision to the bill that would “sunset” protections for children if “high-quality, long-term studies” could purport that transgender procedures were safe for kids. 
Talarico’s campaign now <a href="https://www.statesman.com/news/politics/state/article/ken-paxton-accuses-james-talarico-flip-flopping-22296649.php">claims</a> the candidate only opposed that bill because it “stripped critical healthcare away from Texas children suffering from rare genetic diseases that have nothing to do with being transgender.&#8221;
But in August 2023 — just months after voting against the bill — Talarico <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-james-talarico-says-he-loves-trans-children-in-unearthed-clip">said</a> on a podcast that the thing he loved most in the world apart from family or friends was “trans children.”
“I love, I’m just saying this because it’s all on my mind, the trans children who showed up yesterday at the state capitol to advocate for their humanity,&#8221; Talarico said in the footage, first unearthed by The Daily Wire. &#8220;They shouldn’t have to, but it was an inspiration to watch,” he said on the “A Superbloom” podcast.
Paxton, who helped negotiate a settlement with Texas Children’s Hospital to create the first ever &#8220;detransition&#8221; clinic, quickly attacked Talarico’s pivot on the issue. 
“In an attempt to make himself appear like less of a radical freak James Talarico is trying to walk back his position on child mutilation,” Paxton <a href="https://x.com/KenPaxtonTX/status/2064088208984686845">said</a> on Monday. “Texans remember.”
Political commentators have noted that Talarico’s rhetoric on the issue showed just how unpopular transgender procedures are with most Americans and how the electorate has shifted in recent years. 
Schilling, whose organization released ads targeting swing state voters on the issue of transgenderism during the 2024 election, said that the data showed most voters don&#8217;t support gender surgeries for kids. Even the Democrat Party&#8217;s own autopsy of the 2024 election acknowledged that President Donald Trump’s attack on Kamala Harris on the issue was effective. 
“For him to admit that this is a political vulnerability, should send a warning sign to every single Democrat that&#8217;s running in a competitive race this year,” Schilling said of Talarico. “He&#8217;s trying to win over these people in the middle and these Republicans, but I don&#8217;t think anyone&#8217;s going to buy it. He&#8217;s just been too much of a radical during his time in the Texas legislature.”
Schilling noted that Talarico’s comment left the door open for support for puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, both of which can have permanent impacts on bone density, heart health, and fertility. 
Neeraja Deshpande, a commentator with the Independent Women’s Forum, told The Daily Wire that Talarico’s rhetorical shift reflected a broader cultural shift against transgender procedures for kids, which was in part triggered by detransitioners speaking out against the harmful procedures done on them as children. 
“I think it&#8217;s a permanent change on this issue,” she told The Daily Wire. “I think it was a blip that was, you know, predicated on emotional manipulation, and political manipulation, and a media environment that had really tight control.”
Deshpande noted that both the American Medical Association and American Society of Plastic Surgeons have publicly backed away from support for transgender procedures for kids. She added that Talarico’s shift was likely a cynical political move, but that it was good that support for transgender surgeries was now seen as a political liability. 
“I think there&#8217;s also just fewer Democrats willing to go to bat for all the like trans kids bulls***,” she said. “I think they recognize that it&#8217;s bulls**t.” 
Talarico is also attempting a moderate pivot on illegal immigration.
“I’m a border security Democrat,&#8221; Talarico said Monday. &#8220;I believe we&#8217;ve got to have a sane, orderly process to ensure that we know who&#8217;s coming into our country,” he said. “And I&#8217;m all for welcoming immigrants who want to work hard and live the American dream, who want to make us richer and stronger as immigrants have always done. But I also think we have to keep out folks who mean to do us harm. And public safety is the most important thing the government does.”
That&#8217;s a far cry from the Democrat&#8217;s previous <a href="https://x.com/RNCResearch/status/2015169671838695883?s=20&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=ncl_amplify&amp;utm_campaign=260609-james_talarico_fails_to_walk_back_his_far_left_record&amp;utm_content=ncl-fqjYFgn77p&amp;utm_term=&amp;_nlid=fqjYFgn77p&amp;_nhids=nclPXUQdWcLdpls">argument</a> for placing a “giant welcome mat” at the southern border and his <a href="https://x.com/jamestalarico/status/1149785576469618689">protesting</a> of immigration enforcement raids by the Trump administration. Just recently, Talarico told a group of religious leaders that there should be no mass deportations. 
“We have to ban ICE agents from wearing masks, from kidnapping people off our streets without a warrant,” he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/at-james-talaricos-church-its-offensive-to-respect-gods-pronouns-but-abortions-ok">said</a>. “We have to require them to identify themselves like any law enforcement official. And we have to end this policy of mass deportations that again is terrorizing our communities across Texas and across this country.”
Andrew Arthur, a resident in legal policy and law at the Center for Immigration Studies, told The Daily Wire there was a major disconnect between Talarico’s purported support for border security and his anti-ICE advocacy. 
“Border security is not sustainable without deportations,” he said. “Because there are no consequences for entering the United States illegally, people will continue to do it.”
Arthur noted that the Biden administration’s policies that resulted in the release of some 8 million illegal immigrants into the United States led to a major backlash against open border policies. He said the catch-and-release policies put in place by Biden had a huge negative impact on Democrats during the 2024 election. He <a href="https://cis.org/Arthur/Latest-HarvardHarris-Poll-Shows-Increasing-Support-Mass-Deportations">noted</a> that a recent Harvard/Harris poll found that a majority of Americans still say they support deporting all illegal immigrants and that Democrats are increasingly weary of open borders rhetoric. 
“It makes sense that Democrats like Mr. Talarico are now distancing themselves from the Biden administration&#8217;s policies, which were very unpopular nationwide,” he told The Daily Wire. “So James Talarico is simply singing from the same playbook that most congressional Democrats ended singing from ever since Trump&#8217;s election in 2024.”
Arthur noted that the impacts of Biden’s illegal immigrant surge were still being felt in border communities in Texas while the border had turned into a non-issue for much of the country because of Trump’s successful efforts to secure the border. 
Talarico’s political rebrand includes claiming to support the oil and gas industry and the Second Amendment despite his previous climate activism and gun control advocacy. But his pivot is not contained to political issues. It appears to be changing how he characterizes his religious beliefs as well. 
While his pastor and mentor Jim Rigby denies the historical resurrection of Jesus Christ and promotes using so-called inclusive language for God, Talarico <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/at-james-talaricos-church-its-offensive-to-respect-gods-pronouns-but-abortions-ok">recently</a> claimed to believe differently in an interview with the New York Times. 
Schilling said Talarico was attempting to mask his true beliefs in his efforts to turn Texas blue. 
“He&#8217;s a trans Texan, and people should see right through it,” he said. “ He does not have your best interest in heart.”

Democratic Senate Candidate James Talarico Holds Rally Day After GOP Primary

James Talarico Wants To Rebrand As A Moderate. But We Have The Receipts.

border security

Fresh off his victory in Maine’s Democratic Senate primary, Graham Platner is facing renewed scrutiny over allegations involving former girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield, as new disputes emerge over his characterization of their relationship and the events detailed in a recent New York Times investigation.
Platner secured the Democratic nomination Tuesday and will face off in November against incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in one of the most closely watched Senate races of the 2026 midterms. But his victory comes amid a growing list of controversies that have dogged his campaign, including a now-covered tattoo linked to Nazi iconography, reports of extramarital sexting early in his marriage, and allegations from former partners describing troubling behavior.
In an interview with <a href="https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2026-06-05/in-an-interview-with-maine-public-graham-platner-denies-being-physically-threatening">Maine Public</a> following the publication of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/us/politics/platner-maine-senate-girlfriends-relationships.html">Times investigation</a>, Platner dismissed allegations from Fifield that he had engaged in physically threatening behavior during their relationship. &#8220;No, that&#8217;s just not true,&#8221; Platner said when asked about claims that he had acted aggressively toward her.
The Times reported that Fifield alleged Platner once yanked her from a cab following an argument and, on another occasion, twisted her arm behind her back, pushed her into a room, and held the door shut to prevent her from leaving. Platner&#8217;s campaign denied allegations of physical abuse but did not dispute claims that he made comments about violence, including remarks about raping potential home intruders.
Platner also appeared to downplay the nature of his relationship with Fifield, telling Maine Public that &#8220;we never dated&#8221; and describing the relationship as merely &#8220;casual.&#8221;
That characterization has drawn criticism from Fifield, who says the relationship was far more substantial than Platner now suggests. In a text message revealed to the <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/graham-platners-ex-girlfriend-wants">Free Press</a>, Platner wrote to Fifield that he loved her “in a way I can’t even describe. I’ve been falling over myself for you for as long as you’d have me.”
Fifield was also the original source behind allegations that Platner&#8217;s controversial tattoo carried Nazi associations, claims first reported last year by <a href="https://jewishinsider.com/2025/10/graham-platner-ss-tattoo-maine-senate/">Jewish Insider</a>.
Platner again rejected those allegations during the interview, arguing that he was unaware of any extremist symbolism connected to the tattoo until recently. &#8220;The moment I found out it had these connotations, it was covered up within three days,&#8221; Platner said.
Meanwhile, Fifield has publicly criticized the New York Times&#8217; handling of its investigation, accusing the newspaper of omitting corroborating evidence and contextual information she provided during months of interviews.
In a lengthy post to <a href="https://x.com/lyndseyfifield/status/2062808679829704815">X</a>, Fifield said she cooperated extensively with Times reporters, provided screenshots and additional sources, and agreed not to speak with other media outlets while the investigation was underway. After publication, however, she questioned why details about her own political background and personal life received significant attention while, she argues, evidence supporting her allegations was minimized or excluded.
&#8220;The journalists I trusted who convinced me to share a story I never wanted to tell methodically delayed and twisted this into a gift to the Platner campaign,&#8221; Fifield wrote.
She also disputed the newspaper&#8217;s assertion that certain claims could not be corroborated, arguing that multiple friends had confirmed she spoke about Platner&#8217;s alleged behavior years before he became a political candidate.
The fallout from the Times report has highlighted a broader divide among Democratic voters. Rather than damaging Platner&#8217;s campaign, the controversy appeared to energize many supporters. According to reporting following the story&#8217;s publication, the campaign recorded one of its strongest fundraising days after the allegations became public.
Platner has repeatedly argued that the scrutiny surrounding his personal life is intended to distract voters from his campaign&#8217;s economic message. During his Maine Public interview, he accused political opponents and the media of attempting to shift attention away from issues such as healthcare, taxes, and income inequality.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s going to do anything serious,&#8221; Platner said of the allegations. &#8220;The whole point of these stories is to make sure we&#8217;re not talking about healthcare, it&#8217;s to make sure we&#8217;re not talking about raising taxes on the rich.&#8221;
Whether the controversy fades or continues to grow may ultimately depend on what additional evidence emerges and whether further reporting sheds light on the competing claims surrounding Platner&#8217;s past relationships. For now, the Democratic nominee enters the general election facing continued questions about allegations he insists are false and that former partners insist deserve greater scrutiny.

Graham Platner

Graham Platner Caught In Another Lie

A bitter public feud between Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is exposing growing fractures within the Democratic Party as left-wing activists and establishment figures increasingly find themselves at odds ahead of the 2026 midterms.
The latest clash erupted Sunday when Platner, speaking at a town hall in Maine, referred to Fetterman with a profanity while discussing lawmakers he would potentially work alongside in Washington. &#8220;The Senate really is a place of relationships,&#8221; Platner <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/platner-calls-fetterman-a-hole-town-hall-democratic-feud-heats-up">told supporters</a>. &#8220;You can&#8217;t just go down there and be John Fetterman and just sort of be an a**hole.&#8221;
When audience members reacted, Platner doubled down, adding, &#8220;He&#8217;s said mean things about me, I&#8217;m allowed to say that.&#8221;
The comments marked the latest escalation in a war of words that has increasingly become a proxy battle over the future direction of the Democratic Party.
Fetterman has emerged as one of Platner&#8217;s most vocal Democratic critics in recent weeks, repeatedly attacking the Maine progressive over a growing list of controversies that have dogged his Senate campaign. The Pennsylvania senator has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/02/politics/graham-platner-senate-democrats-maine">referred</a> to Platner as a &#8220;creeper,&#8221; questioned his past conduct, and accused fellow Democrats of overlooking behavior they would ordinarily condemn.
&#8220;What kind of a creeper has spent a decade on a platform like Kik, and send a dozen explicit kinds of messages and who knows what else?&#8221; Fetterman said during a recent CNN interview. In another appearance, Fetterman argued that Democrats were supporting Platner primarily because of party loyalty rather than enthusiasm for the candidate himself. &#8220;If they&#8217;d just be honest, they&#8217;d say, &#8216;Well, the only thing I can say about him is, well, he&#8217;s a Democrat,'&#8221; Fetterman <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/06/politics/video/fetterman-roasts-maines-dem-senate-candidate">said</a>. &#8220;He&#8217;s not really technically a Democrat — in his own words, he said, &#8216;I&#8217;m a communist socialist.'&#8221;
Platner has fired back repeatedly, accusing Fetterman of abandoning progressive principles and aligning himself with more moderate and pro-Israel factions within the party. Over the weekend, Platner <a href="https://x.com/grahamformaine/status/2063395224592761326">wrote</a> on X that Fetterman had become &#8220;a stooge for AIPAC and the Republican Party,&#8221; highlighting one of the major ideological fault lines driving the dispute.
The increasingly personal nature of the conflict comes as Fetterman himself has become a controversial figure among many leftists due to his strong support for Israel, criticism of anti-Israel activists, and willingness to break with fellow Democrats on several high-profile issues.
While Democratic leaders have largely attempted to focus attention on defeating Republicans in November, the Fetterman-Platner fight underscores deeper tensions simmering beneath the surface. Those divisions pit an ascendant hard-left contingent that embraces democratic socialism and confrontational politics against more moderate Democrats who argue the party risks alienating voters through ideological purity tests and controversial candidates.
The dispute could also offer an early preview of broader battles expected to intensify ahead of the 2028 presidential election. As Democrats search for a post-Biden identity, competing factions within the party are increasingly wrestling over questions of ideology, messaging, foreign policy, and the type of candidates they want representing the party on the national stage.
For now, those disagreements are playing out in Maine, where Platner remains the heavy favorite to secure his party&#8217;s Senate nomination. But the increasingly public feud with Fetterman suggests that even if Democrats remain united against Republicans at the ballot box, unity within the party itself may prove far more difficult to maintain.
If Platner wins the nomination and advances to a general election showdown against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, Democrats may face a difficult balancing act: defending a candidate embraced by the party&#8217;s left-wing grassroots while answering questions raised by one of their own sitting senators.

Senate Votes on Reconciliation

Fetterman Vs. Platner: The Democrat Civil War Is Getting Ugly

Democrat

Democratic Party

John Fetterman

Making faith a center point of his Senate campaign, James Talarico says he doesn’t want to “claim” Jesus for the Democratic Party. Yet the woke church that molded him uses Christ to justify support for abortion, transgender procedures on kids, and protesting immigration enforcement.
A review of Talarico’s Texas church and its activist pastor — who Talarico calls a “mentor” — shows how closely his political views have been shaped by a leftist conception of Christianity. These positions, such as the promotion of abortion and acceptance of transgenderism, put Talarico at odds with many of the Texas voters the media have suggested could be amenable to the Democrat’s religious pitch against Republican Ken Paxton. 
Talarico’s church, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian in Austin, has pushed leftist activism for years while undermining traditional Christian beliefs such as the historical resurrection of Jesus. The church’s theological and political positions face scrutiny as Talarico looks to become the first Democrat to win statewide office in Texas for decades on a platform of defeating Christian nationalism and removing faith from “partisan politics.” 
“I&#8217;ve been the chief opponent of Christian nationalism in the Texas legislature. I believe the separation of church and state is a sacred boundary that doesn&#8217;t just protect the state, but also protects the church,” Talarico told religious leaders during a podcast earlier this year. “I&#8217;m trying not to claim Jesus for the Democratic Party. I&#8217;m trying to wrestle away Jesus from partisan politics.”
From a review of the church&#8217;s website, one would hardly guess that Talarico is interested in a non-partisan Jesus. St. Andrew’s, whose webpage features a cross draped in an LGBTQ flag, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-book-is-gay-read-the-sexually-explicit-volumes-james-talaricos-church-gives-kids">maintains</a> a “banned books” library filled with sexually explicit material aimed at young people and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/james-talaricos-church-funds-abortions-trans-summer-camps">donates</a> part of its annual budget to abortion giant Planned Parenthood. 
<div id="attachment_1108063" style="width: 1076px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1108063" class="wp-image-1108063 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM.png" alt="" width="1066" height="810" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM.png 1066w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM-300x228.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM-758x576.png 758w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM-768x584.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1066px) 100vw, 1066px" />St. Andrew&#8217;s Presbyterian</div>
In the name of <a href="https://www.staopen.org/inclusive-language">inclusivity</a>, Talarico’s church avoids referring to God as “Father” as Christians have done for thousands of years. Instead, the church recommends using “non-gendered” language for God. 
“Inclusive language, when used to refer to God, is non-gendered. Therefore, God is not referred to as ‘He’ or ‘Father’, nor as ‘She’ or ‘Mother,’” the church’s website says. 
This contradicts the Bible’s description of Jesus’ instructions to his disciples to refer to God as “our Father” when praying. In the biblical Gospels, Jesus refers to God as “Father” well over 100 times. 
The “Inclusive Bible” used by St. Andrew’s makes awkward gender revisions. The version changes the Lord’s Prayer, one of the most beloved and ancient Christian prayers, from “our Father who art in heaven” to “our Father-Mother in heaven.” 
Talarico appears to have adopted this belief during his time in the legislature, saying that “God is non-binary” while arguing against a Texas law keeping males out of female sports. 
In addition to not calling God &#8220;Father,&#8221; St. Andrew&#8217;s avoids referring to Jesus as “king,” as Christians have done for thousands of years. 
“When referring to God, we do not use the words ‘King’ and ‘Lord,’ because that would make God male,” the church says on its website. “When referring to Jesus, we do not use ‘king’ and ‘lord,’ because it hints at a hierarchy that we believe Jesus repudiated.”
&#8220;To say that our divine source is male is perhaps the most sexist comment a person can make,” the inclusive language guide says. “To equate the Almighty with masculinity might or might not hurt a particular victim of abuse, but it will definitely teach a view of life where our little girls will be more likely to be abused in the future.&#8221;
Many of the heterodox positions taken at St. Andrew&#8217;s come from Jim Rigby, Talarico’s “mentor” and a pastor at the church. In addition to his leftist political positions, he diverts from historic Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead in a historic event called the resurrection. 
In a Christmas Day Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jim.rigby.12/posts/957972940944180">post</a> from 2015, Rigby suggested that resurrection could actually be understood as “a poem about the whole life process.”
“Apparently, because I don&#8217;t believe in a literal resurrection, I&#8217;m not really Christian. This unfortunately also means I won&#8217;t be going to heaven with many of you,” he said, adding that he was told by a Christian that “we have to LITERALLY believe Jesus&#8217; corpse got up. If you believe all the above you will get to be with God in heaven. Let&#8217;s just hope God has a handle on that anger problem by now.”
Talarico, who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/politics/james-talarico-christian.html">told the</a> New York Times that he believes in a historical resurrection unlike his mentor, said his faith is a “biblical Christianity.” 
Despite this difference of opinion, Talarico greatly credits Rigby for his worldview and closely mirrors his political positions. 
“Our pastor, Dr. Jim Rigby, who I&#8217;ve known since I was 2 years old, he married my parents. He baptized me,” Talarico said during a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4832vfsmf4">podcast</a>. “He is still my pastor today. And he showed me what it means to act with courage from the pulpit.”
In 2023, Rigby and St. Andrew’s <a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2023/01/17/social-justice-sermons">worked</a> to oppose legislation supported by Texas Republicans to shield kids from transgender procedures. 
“Anyone who preaches hate in Jesus’ name and we remain silent, then we are complicit,” Rigby said during the time of his involvement in the campaign against a bill to protect kids from puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender surgeries. 
Talarico has taken a similar approach as a state lawmaker. He <a href="https://journals.house.texas.gov/HJRNL/88R/PDF/88RDAY63FINAL.PDF">voted against</a> the 2023 law that protected kids from transgender surgeries and cross-sex hormone procedures.
Talarico also <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVD-Gi-FbWh/?hl=en&amp;img_index=3">attacked</a> Republicans for passing a bill in October 2021 keeping males out of female sports.
“Texas Republicans have passed their anti-trans bill. Over and over, Christians used scripture to justify bullying trans kids,” he said at the time. “I told them in my faith, God is non-binary.”
Abortion is another issue where Talarico closely follows Rigby. In 2016, Rigby cited the so-called &#8220;constitutional right to an abortion” in an <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Rigby-New-fetal-remains-rule-is-a-Trojan-Horse-10689637.php">op-ed</a> lamenting proposals requiring the dignified burial of fetal remains and ultrasounds before ending the life of their unborn child. 
“It is chilling to witness politicians overriding science and medicine to impose their own beliefs on women,” he wrote. “The real reason politicians are pushing this seems to be the belief that a soul enters the body at conception, therefore making the fertilized human egg the moral equivalent to a fully gestated human being.”
Unlike many Christians, Rigby said he disagreed with that position. 
“Where is the religious freedom for the millions of us who believe that women&#8217;s bodies are not community property simply because they get pregnant? Where is the religious freedom for those of us who respect the moral agency of women?” he wrote. 
St. Andrew’s is a “reproductive freedom congregation,” meaning that it <a href="https://justtx.org/rfc/">affirms</a> that abortion is a “blessing” and a “moral and social good.” 
Talarico, running on a platform of enshrining Roe v. Wade into federal law, argues that Christianity is silent on abortion and actually supports the life-ending procedure. He grounds his support for abortion in the biblical account of an angel visiting the Virgin Mary and telling her that she would miraculously conceive and give birth to Jesus Christ. 
“I say all this in the context of abortion, because before God comes over Mary, and we have the incarnation, God asks for Mary’s consent,” he said during an appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast. “You cannot force someone to create … so that’s how I come down on that side of the issue.”
In 2016, St. Andrew’s became part of a <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/faith-leaders-pledge-offer-sanctuary-immigrants-facing-deportation/">movement</a> of woke churches offering to shelter illegal immigrants, and Rigby was <a href="https://www.fox7austin.com/news/pulpit-to-soapbox-austin-preacher-wants-immigration-reform">arrested</a> for trespassing inside the state capitol in 2017 while protesting a proposed law targeting sanctuary city policies. 
If elected, Talarico says he will go after ICE and ban them from shielding their identity while conducting operations. 
“We have to ban ICE agents from wearing masks, from kidnapping people off our streets without a warrant,” he said on a podcast. “We have to require them to identify themselves like any law enforcement official. And we have to end this policy of mass deportations that again is terrorizing our communities across Texas and across this country.”
Another issue that has plagued the Talarico campaign is the question of veganism. While he once boasted about having a meat-free campaign, he now says he proudly consumes Texas barbecue. His church <a href="https://www.staopen.org/earth-care">encourages</a> people to “eat a plant based diet for the planet’s health and yours.”

Screenshot 2026-06-03 at 11.14.56 AM

At James Talarico’s Church, Its Offensive To Respect God’s Pronouns — But Abortion’s OK.

Bible

Christianity

Facing increasing questions about his personal character, embattled Maine Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner is ramping up the leftist rhetoric. 
Platner posted a video on Thursday showing clips from a recent speech where he called for the abolition of ICE, claiming that the agency has been used to “terrorize&#8221; and &#8220;murder&#8221; Americans. The video comes after reports revealed that Platner sent sexually explicit messages to multiple women while married. He also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/see-it-graham-platner-has-active-profile-on-predators-paradise-messaging-app">maintained</a> an account on a platform frequently criticized by child-safety advocates, as first reported by The Daily Wire. 
“We do not need ICE. It is an agency that has been turned into a political weapon by the Trump administration to terrorize communities, and, quite frankly, murder American citizens in the streets,” Platner said. 
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“It has been turned into a tool, not to enforce immigration law, but merely as a tool of political coercion. And an agency that&#8217;s been doing that, in my opinion, does not deserve to exist in the future,” Platner added. 
While some Democrats have attempted to distance themselves from complete opposition to ICE, the agency in charge of arresting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes against Americans, Platner has doubled down on his calls to get rid of the agency. 
Platner is looking to be the Democrat nominee for Maine to take on Republican Senator Susan Collins. If elected, Platner said he would never vote to fund the agency and work to “get rid of it entirely.” 
“If an agency has a culture in which it has no accountability, and people are essentially incentivized to go out of their way and break the rules, you can&#8217;t reform that,” he said. “There&#8217;s no amount of body cams or extra training that&#8217;s going to fix that. You need to get rid of it all and you just start over entirely.”
In recent days, Platner’s campaign has been rocked by reports of his previous sexual escapades. On Tuesday, Platner <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/platner-promises-dem-senators-there-will-be-no-new-accusations">met</a> with top Senate Democrats who asked him if there would be any more serious allegations against him they needed to know about. He insisted that no credible allegations of sexual assault were forthcoming.
“It’s not a secret I’ve had a messy, complicated life,” he told senators. “The worst of the rumors we’ve all heard are not true.”

Maine Democratic Candidate For Senate Graham Platner Campaigns Across The State

The Federal Agency Nazi-Tattooed Graham Platner Wants Erased

Illegal Immigation

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

An adviser to Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner threatened the female former staffer who went public with Platner&#8217;s sexually explicit text messaging habits.
Morris Katz, a strategist for Platner who also advises New York City&#8217;s democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, sent a message through a third party to former state Rep. Genevieve McDonald, warning her not to cooperate with The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal on stories that dug into Platner&#8217;s explicit texts to multiple women.
&#8220;Just want to be clear on where we are right now,” Katz wrote in the message McDonald first shared with <a href="https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/05/31/politics/top-graham-platner-adviser-threatened-former-aide-over-sexting-stories/">The Bangor Daily News</a>, warning her that she would face a smear campaign if she assisted with the story. “If the story goes in its current iteration we’ll communicate directly on the record, and by name, that Genevieve violated the personal trust of Amy and Graham and shared explicit falsehoods to sabotage the campaign.&#8221;
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<iframe style="aspect-ratio: 16/9; max-width: 100%; width: 100%; border: 0; height: auto;" title="DW Player" src="https://public.dailywire.com/preroll-player/embed.html?playback-id=b6QXC8fKimDhfWwJWy01Q6rGds2dvCAcW&amp;ad-tag-url=https%3A%2F%2Fpubads.g.doubleclick.net%2Fgampad%2Fads%3Fiu%3D%2F61914415%2Fdw.video.article%26description_url%3Ddailywire.com%26url%3D%26tfcd%3D0%26npa%3D0%26sz%3D640x480%26min_ad_duration%3D5000%26max_ad_duration%3D60000%26gdfp_req%3D1%26unviewed_position_start%3D1%26vpos%3Dpreroll%26output%3Dvast%26plcmt%3D1%26env%3Dvp%26vpa%3Dclick%26vpmute%3D0%26impl%3Ds%26correlator%3D%5Bcachebuster%5D" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
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McDonald was working on another campaign for Jordan Wood, also a Democrat, who is running in Maine&#8217;s 2nd Congressional District — but she quit over the weekend in an effort to shield Wood from any negative publicity she might get in the aftermath of the Platner stories going to print. The message from Katz was delivered to McDonald through another of Wood&#8217;s advisers.
Katz also appeared to lash out at McDonald via an X post, though he did not name her specifically, when the stories were published, saying, &#8220;It’s no one’s f*cking business what happened in Graham &amp; Amy’s marriage before he was ever a candidate for office. There should be no place in our politics for incompetent, opportunistic operatives who violate privacy, betray trust, and prioritize vengeance over decency.&#8221;
Platner has been dogged by a number of scandals throughout his campaign, from the discovery of a Nazi-inspired tattoo that he&#8217;s since had covered up to his Reddit posts <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/didnt-deserve-to-live-leftist-candidate-appears-to-mock-wounded-soldier-in-resurfaced-post">trashing a wounded veteran</a> and Purple Heart recipient. The sexually explicit texts — to which his campaign has admitted — and his still-active profile on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/see-it-graham-platner-has-active-profile-on-predators-paradise-messaging-app">predators&#8217; paradise Kik</a> were only the latest wrinkles in his very bumpy campaign.

Democratic Senate Candidate For Maine Graham Platner Campaigns Around The State

Platner Campaign Threatened Female Staffer Who Exposed Sexual Deviancy

Sexual Misconduct

Sexually explicit

The loudest Democratic critics of the “Epstein class” continue to carve out exceptions for Senate candidate Graham Platner, despite new revelations that he exchanged sexually explicit text messages with many women and maintained an active profile on a platform notorious for enabling sexual predators.
Over the weekend, The Daily Wire exclusively <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/see-it-graham-platner-has-active-profile-on-predators-paradise-messaging-app">reported</a> that Platner created an account on the Kik platform, which the National Center on Sexual Exploitation has described as a “predator’s paradise.” The revelation followed another weekend disclosure that his wife, Amy Gertner, previously flagged messages that her oyster farmer husband exchanged sexually explicit texts with as many as a dozen women.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hostage-video-platners-wife-attempts-damage-control-over-creepy-sex-scandal?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=%E2%80%98Hostage+Video%E2%80%99%3A+Platner%E2%80%99s+Wife+Attempts+Damage+Control+Over+Creepy+Sex+Scandal">The one-two punch</a> sent national Democrats — who view Maine as their best shot to flip the U.S. Senate — into defense mode.
“I’ve not followed this story as others have, but Graham Platner is somebody who served our country, he’s served his community; he’s also made mistakes and he’s admitted that,” Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said when asked about Platner’s character. 
“Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country. And this race is going to be a contrast between somebody who has put his life on the line for this country, against somebody who is literally empowering the moral hollowing-out of our nation from the White House,” he added.  
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
When asked whether Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner passes the “character test,” after CBS confirmed reporting that Platner&#8217;s wife told his campaign about sexually explicit texts he sent to other women, Sen Chris Murphy (D-CT) says Platner has lived a life of… <a href="https://t.co/coKBizY1aD">pic.twitter.com/coKBizY1aD</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://x.com/FaceTheNation/status/2061122039591673970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 31, 2026</a></blockquote>
Murphy’s deflection of Platner’s misconduct follows months of the Connecticut Democrat railing against the &#8220;Epstein class&#8221; as a pretext to oppose the Trump administration.   
“The Epstein class&#8217;s kids won&#8217;t die in this war. Poor families&#8217; kids will. Billionaires won&#8217;t suffer. Middle class families will pay more for everything,&#8221; he said in March. 
In November 2025, a more definitive Murphy accused President Donald Trump of being in “daily panic mode” over the release of the Epstein files, calling it the “biggest scandal in presidential history.” 
“Clearly, Donald Trump was at the center of a child sex ring. That is heartbreaking that the president of the United States was involved in that kind of gross, craven immorality,” <a href="https://x.com/BulwarkOnline/status/1989380599124046297?s=20">he said to The Bulwark’s Sam Stein.</a> 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://x.com/samstein?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@samstein</a>: “What is your take on how this is playing out and why he’s acting in an incredibly guilty fashion?”<a href="https://x.com/ChrisMurphyCT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChrisMurphyCT</a>: “He wouldn’t be acting this way if he wasn’t so deeply worried about what sits in those files…Clearly, Donald Trump was at the center of a child sex… <a href="https://t.co/EuRUKMEh36">pic.twitter.com/EuRUKMEh36</a>
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) <a href="https://x.com/BulwarkOnline/status/1989380599124046297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, who teamed up with defeated Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to push for Epstein-related disclosures, doubled down on his support for Platner.
“I am proud of<a href="https://x.com/grahamformaine"> @grahamformaine</a> for having the character to stand up against the war in Iran, against genocide, and against an unfair &amp; lopsided economy,” he posted on social media. “I am proud of him for having a vision for a new deal for our time. Excited to campaign with him June 5!”
Platner’s scandal-ridden campaign, which has already faced intense scrutiny over his Nazi tattoo, his mocking of a wounded American soldier, and derogatory social media posts about women, doesn’t appear to be worrying other progressives down the ballot. 
A smiling Matt Dunlap, the Democrat running in Maine’s red-leaning 2nd congressional district, said Monday that he still backs Platner. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
GROSS: Maine Democrat Matt Dunlap says he still supports Graham Platner, exposed for his Nazi tattoo, cheating on his wife &amp; using a notorious &#8220;predator&#8217;s paradise&#8221; app.<a href="https://x.com/dunlap4congress?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dunlap4congress</a> says he thinks this makes for “a good senator.” <a href="https://t.co/KQ2yM445r7">pic.twitter.com/KQ2yM445r7</a>
— NRCC (@NRCC) <a href="https://x.com/NRCC/status/2061474963110981773?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
<a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/me/maine/public-safety/2026/04/02/dunlap-picks-up-khanna-s-endorsement-in-maine-2nd-cd-race">Khanna endorsed Dunlap</a> in April, calling him a “progressive champion” who supports “holding the Epstein class accountable.”
On CNN, Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) dismissed concerns that Platner is suitable to serve in the upper chamber. 
“Well, he certainly has many good attributes. He has a great background. He comes to this issue with strength, both of personality and determination, as well as history. But, like most everybody, there are stumbles along the way, and there&#8217;s some things that he regrets having done, and I&#8217;m sure the public will hear about them,” <a href="https://x.com/RNCResearch/status/2061446597720912089?s=20">Garamendi said.</a> 
A strategic divide appears to be deepening between elected Democratic officials eager to take back power and a left-leaning commentary class focused on the party’s broader brand.
“And I will say, as a Democrat, I find it really problematic when we stand by people who do not pass muster when it comes to some basic judgment and moral values. We stand by them because they&#8217;re on our side. How is that different than Republicans doing the same thing? I find it really problematic,” Democratic activist Lauren Leader-Chivee said. 
Leader-Chivee appeared to predict defeat before the November matchup between Graham Platner and Susan Collins began.
“It was a long shot to begin with, to think that Democrats are going to take out Susan Collins. She&#8217;s been there since 1996. The polls are wrong every single cycle. She [has] extraordinary resilience,” she said. “And now you have this very problematic guy.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Democratic activist Lauren Leader-Chivee (<a href="https://x.com/laurenleaderAIT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@laurenleaderAIT</a>) on Graham Platner: &#8220;How are we different than Republicans&#8221; if we stand by him &#8220;just because he’s on our side?&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/EGIcb4OExq">pic.twitter.com/EGIcb4OExq</a>
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://x.com/tomselliott/status/2061449971862274317?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2026</a></blockquote>

Sen. Chris Murphy

Epstein-Obsessed Democrats Carve Out Exceptions For Graham Platner

Chris Murphy

Jeffrey Epstein

News

Embattled Democratic candidate Graham Platner dispatched his wife to do damage control over the discovery that the Senate hopeful exchanged sexually explicit text messages with as many as a dozen women and posed shirtless on a platform notorious for enabling sexual predators.
His wife, Amy Gertner, quickly flagged the messages days after Platner launched his Senate bid in August 2025. The campaign, however, chose not to disclose them publicly, characterizing the issue as a personal matter between the couple, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/popular-dem-senate-candidate-caught-by-wife-exchanging-raunchy-texts-with-women?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Graham+Platner+Caught+By+Wife+Exchanging+Raunchy+Texts+With+Women">The Daily Wire previously reported</a>.
The sexually explicit messages mark the latest controversy to engulf the oyster farmer’s campaign, which has already faced intense scrutiny over his Nazi tattoo, his mocking of a wounded American soldier, and derogatory social media posts about women.
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Over the weekend, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/see-it-graham-platner-has-active-profile-on-predators-paradise-messaging-app?author=Tim+Rice&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=SEE+IT%3A+Graham+Platner+Has+Active+Profile+On+%E2%80%98Predator%E2%80%99s+Paradise%E2%80%99+Messaging+App">The Daily Wire exclusively revealed</a> that Platner maintains an active account on a platform notorious for attracting sexual predators and exploiting children. Platner is a registered user on Kik, a Daily Wire review found. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation considers the anonymous messaging app a “predator’s paradise.&#8221; 
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-1105603 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/IMG_6917-2048x947-1-1024x474.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="474" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/IMG_6917-2048x947-1-1024x474.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/IMG_6917-2048x947-1-300x139.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/IMG_6917-2048x947-1-768x355.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/IMG_6917-2048x947-1-1536x710.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/IMG_6917-2048x947-1.avif 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
The Platner campaign appeared to dispatch Gertner to diffuse the crisis, painting a bumpy picture of the couple&#8217;s marriage and launching profanity-laced attacks against media outlets. 
&#8220;I&#8217;m walking up and down my road right now, and this is like my 20th take. It&#8217;s very hard to do, but I just really wanted to make sure that everyone knows that Graham and I have a great marriage,&#8221; Gertner said in a nearly five-minute walking video. &#8220;Being married is hard. Being newly married is hard. Being newly married and going through infertility is hard. Being newly married, going through infertility, and Senate campaign is hard.&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t even know if I have the right words to describe what we&#8217;ve been going through,&#8221; she added. 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The plot thickens in Platner&#039;s hookup app drama" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ss8nSwpy5fk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Gertner then attempted to chalk up her husband&#8217;s unfaithfulness to the stress he faced in the U.S. military. 
&#8220;I knew the man that I married had been through an immense amount of violent, active combat, and he&#8217;s been in therapy for years. I just &#8230; I admire the f*ck out of him. So, when there are news articles about our marriage, it&#8217;s just extra sh*tty,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s shameful behavior to spend time, energy, and resources on negative ads and negative stories on Graham when all he&#8217;s trying to do is improve the lives of people who work for a living, and that&#8217;s it.&#8221; 
<a href="https://x.com/TheKevinDalton/status/2060919145437487388?s=20">One X user said</a>, &#8220;This is a hostage video. Is she blinking in Morse code?&#8221;
&#8220;Your presence on a site selling all manner of an extreme sexual perversion, including illegal material involving children, is absolutely relevant for voters to weigh,&#8221; Daily Wire reporter Megan Basham <a href="https://x.com/megbasham/status/2060895066860752950?s=20">said</a>. 
Platner is expected to cruise to victory in Maine’s Democratic primary on June 9 after his top rival, Governor Janet Mills, suspended her campaign. <a href="https://kalshi.com/markets/senateme/maine-senate-race/senateme-26">Prediction markets</a> still favor Platner in November’s general election against Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), though those odds could flip as Republicans dump more opposition research. 
&#8220;The problem is his judgment, which he clearly has been lacking in as an adult. It&#8217;s one thing to have foolish, youthful indiscretions, but I&#8217;m sorry, you cannot get past. It is not a Nazi-style tattoo. It is the tattoo of concentration camp guards. It is the very worst tattoo you can get if you are getting anything Nazi, and that&#8217;s a pretty high bar there,&#8221; MS NOW commentator Elise Jordan said. 
&#8220;So this has been a slow-motion train wreck ever since that tattoo and knowledge of it hit the world, and it&#8217;s only gonna get worse. These texts: There are multiple women. Are all those women going to keep their mouth shut from now until Election Day?&#8221; 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
MS NOW&#8217;s <a href="https://x.com/Elise_Jordan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Elise_Jordan</a> blasts Maine Democrat Graham Platner:
&#8220;The problem is his judgment, which he clearly has been lacking in as an adult. It&#8217;s one thing to have foolish, youthful indiscretions, but I&#8217;m sorry, you cannot get past. It is not a Nazi-style tattoo. It is the… <a href="https://t.co/nESAS6OYbl">pic.twitter.com/nESAS6OYbl</a>
— Bobby LaValley (@Bobby_LaVallley) <a href="https://x.com/Bobby_LaVallley/status/2061449104119533585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2026</a></blockquote>

‘Hostage Video’: Platner’s Wife Attempts Damage Control Over Creepy Sex Scandal

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