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On Tuesday, three days after Graham Platner’s history of extramarital sexting came to light, Stephanie Weaver was at City Hall in Portland to cast her absentee ballot, including for the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

In the ranked-choice Senate race, she selected Gov. Janet Mills as her first choice, followed by David Costello, a former government official in Maine and Maryland.

She ranked Platner last.

“I think he’s going to win,” the 65-year-old said of Platner’s chances in the primary. “But I’m concerned about some of the things he’s done. It’s hard for tigers to change their stripes, and he seems to have a lot of stripes.”

Weaver is among tens of thousands of voters casting ballots in the Democratic primary, the winner of which will take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins in November. Mills suspended her campaign a month ago, as she was trailing Platner in fundraising and polling, but she hasn’t formally withdrawn. Her name is still on the ballot — a fact she reiterated publicly on Monday.

Some Democratic primary voters, like Weaver, are voting for Mills.

However, the Platner-skeptical Democrats likely won’t pose a problem for his chances in the primary. Polls show he’s all but certain to be the Democratic nominee. But Democratic uneasiness about Platner could portend trouble during an election cycle when his party will need its base to show up in order to vote out Collins, a five-term incumbent.

Out of 11 voters interviewed by the Press Herald in Portland, Brunswick and Freeport, seven ranked Platner first on their ballots, while four said their first choices were Mills, even though she’s no longer campaigning, or Costello, a long-shot who recently polled at 3% support.

While hardly a scientific survey, the interviews were illuminating.

On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Platner’s wife had confided in a campaign aide last year that she was worried that her husband’s text messages to other women early in their marriage could be a political liability. The report came atop earlier controversies Platner has faced over a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol that he has since had covered, and a trove of past social media posts including racist, misogynistic and other inflammatory comments.

Platner has said he didn’t know what the tattoo was when he got it, and he has apologized for the posts on Reddit, saying he made them as he was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder from his combat tours in the military. He has said voters don’t care about the controversies and are more concerned about policy issues, such as affordability and access to healthcare.

That was true for some — but not all — voters at municipal offices who cast ballots on Tuesday.

Hannah LaSala, a 39-year-old Portland resident who has canvassed for Platner, said she is excited about his policy positions, including his support for universal healthcare.

“I think he has the rights of the people in Maine in mind versus those of corporate donors and large businesses,” LaSala said.

LaSala said the text messages don’t change her support for Platner.

“That’s not my marriage, it’s not my business,” she said. “It doesn’t affect his policies and it’s not going to affect my vote.”

Brian McNiff, also a Portland voter, agreed that Platner’s policies matter more to him than the text messages. “I’m not sure (the messages) matter,” said McNiff, 69. “I like what he’s saying.”

Some voters, however, said they were bothered by Platner’s controversies.

Laura Blutstein, a retired doctor, ranked Mills first, saying it was a “vote for my conscience.”

Blutstein said it was hard for her to look past some of Platner’s controversies, including the most recent one, but she said she doesn’t think everyone feels the same.

“If there’s enough time before November, I think this will fade,” she said. “But I am worried about the big money the Republicans have and that they will try and drag him through the mud as much as they can and remind people of it.”

She also cited Mills’ lengthy time in office compared to Platner’s inexperience. (An oyster farmer and former Marine from the town of Sullivan, Platner has not held elected office.)

“I wish Platner had run for the state Legislature or something first, to get some experience,” said Blutstein, 70. “He’s young enough that he could do that first, then run for Senate.”

Marcus Deck, 61, a physician in Brunswick, ranked Platner first despite misgivings about how the revelations of extramarital sexting could affect Platner’s reputation.

“It’s ammunition for the Republicans, and it’s going to be very damning,” Deck said, adding that he doesn’t think “people feel good about people maybe doing that sort of stuff. Because if you can’t control those kind of emotions, what else can’t you control?”

Deck, however, was impressed by Platner’s responses in a recent radio interview, saying “his populist message resonates.” But he expressed some skepticism, too.

“Of course they’re gonna say, ‘Hey, people don’t really care about this stuff.’ Well, of course people care about it. It is a judgment of character,” Deck said.

Entering Brunswick Town Hall to vote, Frannie Welch, a 75-year-old retired teacher, said she planned to vote for Platner. She said Platner “was a sleazebag” in sending the sexually explicit text messages. But she was ready to overlook the episode because of what he has described as his traumatic military experience and because his wife, Amy Gertner, is standing by him.

“Nobody knows the husband as well as the wife in terms of what he’s capable of, what he’s sorry about,” Welch said.

She knows friends who disagree with her and do not forgive Platner. But she still expects them to vote for him over Collins in November.

Back in Portland, Stephanie Weaver’s son, Hayden Weaver, selected Costello as his first choice in the primary.

“I like Graham Platner’s policies, but I am a little suspicious about his history,” said the 24-year-old Market Basket worker.

“I do prefer David Costello first,” Hayden Weaver said. “He’s smart and I think he knows what to do. He has a lot of experience.”

Both Weavers said they will vote for Platner in November if he is the Democratic nominee.

“Susan Collins is kind of complicit in Trump’s war in Iran and I think she’s had her time in office,” Hayden Weaver said. “She’s a career politician and needs to be retired by now.”