Portland, Maine — 

Graham Platner is still likely to win Maine’s Democratic Senate nomination in Tuesday’s primary — but some voters in the state who once were excited by his campaign now say they’ll hold their noses while casting their ballots after a series of negative reports about his personal behavior.

Speaking to CNN in Portland, Maine, Sandra Braden said she doesn’t have “a lot of faith” Platner has changed as he says he has, nor does she believe his assertion that he didn’t know the origins of a tattoo with Nazi-linked iconography that he’s since had covered.

Still, Braden said, she’ll take a chance on Platner “if he votes the way I want him to and he can defeat Susan Collins.”

“I’m going to vote for him, yeah, but I don’t like it. I’m not in favor of all that s**t,” she said.

Platner, the Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer whose populist campaign drew widespread notice among Democrats but has been rocked by a series of scandals in recent months, is still likely to secure the nomination Tuesday. He’s repeatedly said he won’t drop out and already boxed out Gov. Janet Mills of Maine, a top party recruit who suspended her campaign but remains on the ballot.

The latest blow to Platner’s campaign came in a New York Times story published Thursday in which three of Platner’s ex-girlfriends described volatile and “toxic” relationships, including allegations of heavy drinking, infidelity, demeaning behavior toward women and, in one account, physical intimidation.

Platner “strongly disputes” any claims of physical intimidation or altercations, his campaign said. And he has denied knowing about the origins of the tattoo before he entered the race last fall.

The race against five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine is critical to Democrats’ chances of flipping four GOP-held seats and winning a Senate majority in November.

Another Maine voter, Woody Hayward, told CNN that Maine needs “fresh blood” representing the state in the Senate. Hayward said reports about Platner’s tattoo of a Nazi symbol and other controversies are “troublesome” and “disheartening for sure.”

“But what else – what else do we have, right?” he asked.

Zoo Cain was “not really interested in the guy’s foibles,” and has seen Platner speak and is interested in his vision.

“He’s got some baggage,” Cain said. “But way less baggage than the oligarchy, as far as I can tell.”

Platner is set to return to the campaign trail Friday evening in Bar Harbor, where he and other Democratic candidates in Tuesday’s primary will attend a rally with progressive California Rep. Ro Khanna. Platner is also set to hold a town hall Sunday in Portland, and — in a sign he is already planning past the primary — his campaign scheduled a virtual town hall next Wednesday.

Where Janet Mills stands

Platner said Thursday he had not considered ending his campaign.

“It has never crossed our mind to drop out of this thing,” Platner said in an interview with MS NOW, referring to him and his wife, Amy. “I am fully committed to this till the end.”

National Democrats may have limited influence to push him out of the race anyway. After all, Mills suspended her Senate bid after being a prized recruit to challenge Collins.

Mills is still on next Tuesday’s ballot. Earlier Friday, a source close to her told CNN she is getting encouragement to reenter the state’s Senate primary.

“The Governor remains on the ballot, and in the wake of this week’s stories, people across Maine are reaching out to tell her they’re voting for her and encouraging her to get fully back into the race,” the source said.

The source did not say whether Mills has decided to resume active campaigning, weeks after she suspended her bid amid struggles with fundraising and with Platner holding a dominant lead in polls. But the statement is the second time in a week that Mills has signaled that she remains on the ballot as an alternative to Platner, after an interview with the Portland Press-Herald.

A former Mills supporter, ex-state Sen. Lynn Bromley, told CNN after the Times story was published that she still expected Platner to win the primary but hoped he would drop out afterward and let the state party identify a replacement nominee.

“If she came up with 20% with a suspended campaign, that says a lot,” Bromley said, referring to Mills.

During an MS NOW interview Thursday night, Platner bristled slightly at the prospect of Mills regaining support. Asked about her reminder that she is still on the ballot, he called it “a bit of opportunism.”

Beth Dindas, a Maine Democratic voter, told CNN that Platner lost her when he denied knowing about the origins of his tattoo. She said Platner now “has no credibility whatsoever.”

She added that she supports Mills “all the way.”

“I think that ultimately, unfortunately, we’re going to lose this race again and we’re going to have six more years of Susan Collins, who has let down the people of Maine time after time,” Dindas said.

Another Democratic voter in Portland, Bonnie Depp, acknowledged that Platner has “made some stupid comments,” but that she believes his claims that he did not know his tattoo was a Nazi symbol. She said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after his time in the military and deserves a break.

As for Mills, Depp said: “I think she was a wonderful governor – I voted for her both times, I respected many things that she did. But it’s time for newer blood and as a boomer, I can say that.”

“I got until Tuesday to decide, but I’m pretty sure I’ll vote for him. I don’t think a lot of this crap is anybody else’s business,” Depp said.

The chatter about Mills comes as some Democrats who previously indicated support for Platner sought to keep him at arm’s length ahead of Tuesday’s primary.

After Mills dropped out, a leading contender for the state’s battleground 2nd Congressional District, state Sen. Joe Baldacci, said he “look[ed] forward to working with [Platner] in Washington.” Asked about Platner on Friday, a top adviser to Baldacci’s campaign, Jared Bornstein, said in a statement that Baldacci “is focused on finishing the primary strong and defeating Paul LePage,” the presumptive GOP nominee.

Another candidate for the 2nd District, Matt Dunlap, called on Democrats to unify behind Platner after Mills dropped out and was set to attend Khanna’s rally with Platner.

Democrats outside Maine are talking about Mills, too.

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman said voters should get behind Mills in the primary.

“I think what’s time is for Maine voters to take a look at the sitting governor, an honorable woman, and that is a committed Democrat that’s already won statewide,” the Pennsylvania Democrat told CNN’s Manu Raju on Thursday.

PRESQUE ISLE (WGME) — The first successful trans-Atlantic balloon launched from Presque Isle in 1978.

Early Thursday morning, a group of pilots took flight with the goal of crossing the Atlantic Ocean and landing in Europe.

The Atlantic Explorer 2026 is a gas balloon that uses hydrogen.

If successful, this balloon team would be the first to cross the Atlantic using hydrogen as the lifting gas. All others used helium.

“They can vent hydrogen to go down, although they try to avoid doing that. They have expendable weight in the form of sand ballast,” Atlantic Explorer 2026 Press Officer Kim Vesley said.

The hydrogen balloon in the air on its way to Europe. (Courtesy: Bert Padelt)

They can offload the weight to make the balloon go up, or keep it from coming down.

And there are three pilots inside.

“They work in shifts, and they have everything they need: food, clothing, water, a little port-a-potty type bucket,” Vesley said.

The hydrogen balloon in the air on its way to Europe. (Courtesy: Bert Padelt)

“The trajectory and the winds that they have available to them determine where they will come into Europe. It could be probably 3,100 to 3,500 miles, in that vicinity. They expect to be aloft four to six days,” Vesley said.

They have survival equipment, including a life raft, survival suit and more in case of an emergency, but they’re all optimistic.

The hydrogen balloon in the air on its way to Europe. (Courtesy: Bert Padelt)

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“These are all friends with a common goal. That is to do something very special and very rare. The other thing is they may also set a couple of world records during this for the size and type of balloon they are flying,” Vesley said.

To track where the balloon is and the flight path it’s taken, you can visit their website.