A Democratic senate hopeful has covered up his Nazi tattoo after it was revealed he had an SS skull and bones on inked on his chest while serving in the Marines.

Graham Platner, 40, an oyster farmer from Maine, is challenging Republican Susan Collins and is backed by top party figures including Bernie Sanders.

But he was plunged into scandal this week when a video showed him drunk and shirtless, sporting a 'Totenkopf' on the left side of his chest, a symbol of the Nazi's paramilitary wing. 

Platner released a statement on Wednesday and said that he wasn't aware it was an SS symbol when he drunkenly visited a tattoo parlor with his Marine Corps. buddies in Split, Croatia, in 2007.

'I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that – and to insinuate that I did is disgusting. I already had the tattoo covered with a new design,' the Democratic candidate said.

In a video posted on X, Platner showed off the new tattoo.

'It's a Celtic knot with some imagery around dogs, because my wife Amy and I, love dogs,' he said.

He went on to claim that the stories about his Nazi tattoo represent an establishment plot to torpedo his candidacy. 

'[My donors] know that this is all nonsense. It is no surprise that these stories dropped within days of DC's chosen candidate getting into this race,' Platner told local station WGME in an interview.

Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer favors Maine Governor Janet Mills to take on the Republican Collins but had avoided a public endorsement until Tuesday after the Nazi tattoo story broke.

Schumer declared Mills 'the best candidate to retire Susan Collins.' 

It comes after after a weekend of terrible press for Platner over his Reddit history in which he asked why 'black people don't tip' and suggested that women who get raped in the Army should be careful about how much they have to drink.

'I made that comment in 2013. I had just come out of the infantry, which was, at the time, all male. I rarely interacted professionally with women in the service,' he told WGME. 

Prior to the scandal, Platner was being touted as the Democratic blue-collar answer to MAGA.

Overflow crowds were packing his town halls — 500 in Ellsworth, 200 in Caribou — and a viral social media presence turned him into a national progressive folk hero.

Backed by Sanders and buoyed by a $3.2 million fundraising haul last quarter, Platner has stormed rural corners of the state long written off by Democrats, railing against 'oligarchy' and corporate greed while urging empathy for working-class voters.

His raw, plain-spoken style and home-grown authenticity have given him the kind of momentum that could make even five-term incumbent Collins sweat. 

Platner, 41, is a veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars — it was during one of those tours that he picked up the regrettable Nazi tattoo when they came into port in Croatia.

Clips of Platner interacting with voters at town halls have gone viral on social media and elicited praise from various voices in the Democratic Party.

In one video, Platner challenges a local who questioned why 'illegals' in the state 'get free benefits.'

Platner responded that the voter who was asking those questions was 'propagandized' and 'misinformed' and that, all in all, people were just angry because they are taking advantage of.

Media strategist Morris Katz wrote on X that 'if there were more Graham Platner's, Democrats would not be the minority party.'

Jon Favreau, a former speechwriter for Barack Obama and a co-host of the Pod Save America podcast, praised Platner's for framing economic struggles in terms of 'very inspiring, big-sounding values,' not 'poll-tested lines.'

Favreau also praised Platner for sounding like a 'leader' with a 'persona that is earned and not phony.' 

Collins has held her U.S. Senate seat since 1997, and often splits from her Republican colleagues on key policy priorities of the Trump Administration.

She last won re-election in 2020, despite Joe Biden winning her state with 53 percent of the vote. 

Collins previously reported having over $5.2 million dollars of cash on hand in her campaign coffers at the end of June.