Man with Nazi tattoo on chest now in pole position to become next U.S. Senator from Maine

Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner.

Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and former Marine, moved into the pole position to unseat Susan Collins, the U.S. Senator from Maine in the midterm elections later this year. Maine Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of the primary race Thursday morning amid flailing poll numbers and a shortage of campaign funds. 

“While I have the drive and passion, commitment and experience, and above all else – the fight — to continue on, I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources,” Mills, 78, said of her decision to exit the race. Mills' departure clears the way for Platner, a far-left candidate, to clinch the Democrat primary and face off with longtime Senator Susan Collins in November. According to Polymarket, the 41-year-old Platner has a nearly 75% chance of winning that race.

Late last year, Platner faced controversy over a chest tattoo that appeared to resemble the "Totenkopf," a piece of iconography used by the Nazi party. Platner tried to explain away the tattoo as a drunken dalliance when he was on military leave in Croatia almost 20 years ago, according to The New York Post. Platner said he was "very inebriated" when he got the tattoo. 

He also blamed being in a "hyper-masculine, hyper-violent place" as the explanation for the tattoo. Eventually, he had the tattoo covered up with more ink after nearly two decades, and managed to get by the uproar. Earlier this month, it was revealed that Platner praised Hamas in 2014, according to posts on social media that he made at the time. Commenting on a graphic video showing Hamas militants killing Israeli soldiers, Platner remarked, "I did it," according to Jewish Insider. 

Platner on Thursday issued a statement saying Mills' departure from the race reflects their shared "commitment" to defeating Collins. "We're taking back what's ours," Platner declared at the end of the statement. Below, watch a clip from a report on Fox News about Mills exiting the race.