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Graham Platner’s U.S. Senate campaign is projecting strength and confidence following national reports that he sent sexually explicit messages to several women after getting married in 2023.

In a memo to interested parties, the campaign says internal polling conducted over the last two days shows Platner with a four-point lead over U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a five-term Republican incumbent.

But that margin is narrower than recent independent polls, which showed him up by as many as nine points.

The memo also cites strong fundraising in the wake of stories published Saturday by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times about Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, flagging the explicit messages as a possible liability for the campaign.

“This is a race against an incumbent losing her grip on the voters who put her there,” the memo states. “Maine is focused on the cost of living and whether it still trusts Susan Collins. Across the board — the poll numbers, the fundraising, the conversations with voters — all signs point in our favor.”

The campaign didn’t release a specific fundraising figure, but said contributions were up 17% since the stories were published compared to the previous four days, calling it “some of the strongest fundraising of the entire campaign.”

On Tuesday, the campaign said it received nearly $135,000 from donors giving at least $1,000 on Sunday alone, including nearly $39,000 from Maine residents. (Campaigns have 48 hours to report those higher-dollar contributions within 20 days of an election. Full finance reports are not due again until after the primary.)

The memo also cites an internal poll conducted June 2-3 by Public Policy Polling. Among 670 registered voters, Platner leads Collins, 49% to 45%, with 6% undecided. The survey had a 3.8% margin of error.

The results were unchanged, the campaign said, after voters heard negative messaging about both candidates. Respondents were told about Platner’s sexting and about $50 million in federal contracts that the poll’s questioner alleged were steered to the firm of Collins’ husband, the memo said.

Nate Silver, a national polling expert, noted in a social media post that Platner’s lead is smaller than in previous surveys.

“An internal poll showing +4 is not super reassuring given that internal polls typically exaggerate their candidate’s standing by 4 points or so,” Silver said. “Not to mention the history of polls underrating Collins and other Republicans in Maine.”

Independent surveys conduced in May by the University of New Hampshire and the Portland-based Pan Atlantic Research had Platner ahead of Collins by 9 points and 7 points, respectively.

In 2020, polls routinely had Collins trailing Democrat Sara Gideon leading up to Election Day, but the incumbent won easily by about 9 points.

Platner’s internal memo seems to be aimed at calming the jitters of Democrats, who might be nervous that additional revelations could be forthcoming about the 41-year-old political newcomer and presumptive Senate nominee. (Platner faces a primary on June 9 against Gov. Janet Mills, David Costello and write-in candidate Andrea LaFlamme, but Mills has stopped campaigning and the other two have failed to gain much traction in polling and fundraising.)

Platner previously weathered the controversies unearthed last fall about his offensive commenting history on Reddit and his skull-and-crossbones tattoo, which resembles a Nazi symbol.

Platner apologized for the posts, which included blaming victims of sexual assault for their abuse and the use of homophobic and ableist slurs.

He said the posts stemmed from a time he was struggling with PTSD and depression after serving four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that they don’t reflect who he is today.

He got his tattoo covered last fall, saying he didn’t realize it was a Nazi Totenkopf until he heard rumors about the symbol while campaigning. That account was disputed by his former political director.

Amid these controversies, Platner has gained a legion of devoted followers in Maine as he campaigns on economic populism and taking down billionaires, whom he often refers to as oligarchs.

But Republicans hoping to hold onto Collins’ Senate seat aren’t likely to mute their criticism any time soon.

Platner has faced an onslaught of renewed attention to his Reddit comments from Republicans and conservative media outlets since Mills suspended her Senate campaign in late April.

Platner traveled to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to meet with Democratic senators. Few offered details about the meeting, but leaders expressed confidence that Democrats would unseat Collins in the fall.