Graham Platner (D) “struck a defiant posture on Sunday in response to reports that he had sent sexual messages to women outside his marriage, accusing a former aide of false claims and news outlets of ‘journalistic malpractice,’” the New York Times reports.

Asked by reporters whether they were true, he said: “No. This is the amazing part. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times ran stories without any evidence besides the gossip from a former staffer. I’m sorry, that’s — that’s frankly journalistic malpractice. We pushed back on it.”

CNN: “CNN has not independently confirmed the existence of the text messages. CNN did verify that an account on the messaging app Kik appears to belong to Platner. The account, under the username ‘phustle0331,’ features a profile photo showing Platner shirtless in a bathroom with a towel on his waist and uses a handle similar to ones on his since-deleted Reddit account and a now-deleted Instagram account.”

“Donald Trump shattered long-held political norms when Republicans elected him twice despite scandals that would have sunk most candidates. Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is testing whether Democrats are willing to play by the same rules,” Axios reports.

“The answer will show whether voters’ tolerance for scandal — long thought to be a Trump-only phenomenon — is hardening into a broader feature of American politics.”

“As controversy surrounding Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner continues to mount, attention is turning to a little-known provision of Maine law that could allow Democrats to replace him on the general election ballot after the primary,” Fox News reports.

“The question has taken on new significance because Maine election law provides a mechanism for replacing a nominee who withdraws after winning a primary.”

“Under Maine law, a candidate who wins the June 9 primary and subsequently withdraws by 5 p.m. on July 13 may be replaced by a nominee selected by party officials. Any replacement candidate must be chosen no later than 5 p.m. on July 27. The timeline would give Democrats just 14 days to settle on a replacement candidate and prepare for the general election campaign.”

“Sen. Cory Booker said that he had ‘concerns’ that the candidacy of Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, could be damaged by recent revelations, including that Mr. Platner exchanged sexual messages with women outside his marriage,” the New York Times reports.

Washington Post: The Platner sexting controversy and what it could mean for Democrats.

Axios: “Texas has gained more than 2.5 million new residents since 2020 — roughly the entire population of New Mexico — reshaping the electorate and injecting new uncertainty into this year’s marquee Senate race.”

“Republican Ken Paxton is favored to defeat Democrat James Talarico in November, but the influx of new arrivals — along with fading Latino support for President Trump and booming exurban counties — has scrambled the political math in typically red Texas.”

Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner (D) cancelled an appearance on MS NOW after news broke of a new scandal involving sexually explicit texts, Mediaite reports.