AUGUSTA, June 10 -- By the time Maine Democrats walked into their polling places on Tuesday, there was nothing left to learn about Graham Platner. The tattoo that allegedly resembled a Nazi symbol had been litigated for months. The sexually explicit texts had been published. Former girlfriends had described behavior that ranged from demeaning to physically menacing. The voters read all of it, and then they nominated him anyway.

The Associated Press called the Democratic Senate primary for Platner on Tuesday evening, with the oyster farmer from Hancock County running at 75 percent of the early count, and ABC News projected him as the nominee shortly after. He will face Senator Susan Collins, the last Republican senator in New England and ...