By Max Nesterak | Deputy Editor
Good morning, Reformers.
Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith are among the many national Democrats now calling on Maine Democrat Graham Platner to drop out of the race for Senate after having endorsed him and stood by him despite a steady stream of unsettling stories: offensive Reddit posting, a Nazi tattoo, evidence he likely lied about knowing it was a Nazi tattoo, sexting, and aggressive behavior toward girlfriends.
What changed is that Politico published on Monday the account of a former girlfriend, Jenny Racicot, who said Platner came to her house uninvited in 2021 while intoxicated and sexually assaulted her. Platner denies the allegations.
That puts national Democrats in the familiar position of having stuck with an untenable candidate until late in the campaign cycle. Joe Biden’s late withdrawal cost Democrats the White House, though they might still be able to put up a viable competitor to incumbent Susan Collins if Platner withdraws.
Walz traveled to Maine to campaign for Platner in early May — after the Nazi tattoo coverage but before the New York Times’ stories on sexting and “unsettling” behavior, including locking an ex-girlfriend in a room and twisting her arm.
Smith posted her support for Platner after those stories came out, ostensibly satisfied with his denials.
Smith notably rose to the Senate because far less serious allegations against Al Franken forced his resignation at the height of the #MeToo movement. The Franken resignation came as Democrats were battling in a special Alabama U.S. Senate election against a Republican accused of sexually abusing teenaged girls.
Many Democratic senators later said they regretted calling for his resignation before the facts were established (see Jane Mayer’s 2019 New Yorker article).
The fact is, it’s hard to know when to pull the plug on a problematic candidate. It turned out the allegations against Franken were maybe overblown, while those early reports about Platner’s concerning conduct foreshadowed even more troubling stories.
And now, to a banger from Michelle Griffith on the latest with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s financial troubles:
(Photo by Glen Stubbe/Minnesota Reformer)
By Michelle Griffith
The check’s in the mail, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell assured the Reformer Monday when asked about Hennepin County records showing he owes about $48,000 in unpaid property taxes.
Lindell is a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for governor, along with House Speaker Lisa Demuth and Kendall Qualls, who was endorsed at the spring GOP convention.
Lindell’s primary residence in Tonka Bay, Minnesota — which has an estimated value of $2.5 million — has delinquent 2025 taxes totaling $32,355. Hennepin County records, reviewed by the Reformer Monday, also show the property has late taxes from the first half of 2026, which were due on May 15. The property taxes owed so far this year total $15,968, which includes a $1,318 penalty.
Asked why he is late to pay his property taxes, Lindell said he couldn’t afford them last year.
“Just like every other person in Minnesota, money’s tight. It was tight last year,” Lindell said.
By Caspar Dowdy, Investigate Midwest
State and local governments have paid more than half a billion dollars in tax breaks to meat processing companies over nearly 20 years to attract new processing plants, as industry-wide transformation and consolidation have led to plant closures and major restructuring.
Over the past two decades, these companies estimated a total of 69,037 new jobs or training slots across 805 subsidy deals in 38 states, according to data from Good Jobs First, which tracks tax subsidy deals across state, local and federal programs. Each job costs, on average, $7,641 in tax breaks. More than half of those came from Arkansas-based Tyson Foods, which produces 20% of the United States’ beef, pork and chicken, according to the company’s own estimates.
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