The Jewish Democratic Council of America is not ready to endorse Graham Platner, the controversial presumptive Democratic nominee in Maine’s Senate race, said Halie Soifer, the group’s CEO.

“We won’t support a Democrat who doesn’t represent the views and values of the vast majority of American Jews,” Soifer said in a statement. “JDCA has endorsed more than 120 candidates across the country who are fighting for the issues Jewish Americans care about and standing against antisemitism. It’s those many Democrats who have our backs, and we’ll have theirs as they work to defeat Republicans aligned with this White House whose views are antithetical to our values.”

Soifer additionally told The Forward on Thursday that Platner’s record of incendiary past comments and personal controversies are “reasons for concern” about his candidacy, saying that the far-left insurgent would first need to clarify his views to receive possible consideration from the group.

Reached by Jewish Insider on Thursday, Soifer confirmed JDCA’s position on the race but declined to comment further.

JDCA, a leading Jewish Democratic group, typically endorses most Democrats in major federal races, especially closely contested ones like the Senate seat in Maine.

The group had backed Maine Gov. Janet Mills in the June primary to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). But Mills, the establishment favorite, said Thursday that she was suspending her campaign due to a lack of financial resources, clearing the way for Platner to secure the nomination in a race viewed by Democratic leaders as key to regaining control of the upper chamber.

Previously, JDCA had expressed criticism of Platner after it was revealed that he had a Nazi tattoo on his chest for nearly two decades. He has since removed the tattoo and claimed he was unaware of its links to Nazism until recently, even as a former acquaintance told JI that he had long known the icon represented a skull-and-crossbones known as a Totenkopf, adopted by an infamous SS unit.

“Hateful rhetoric and Nazi symbols must have no place in the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, or anywhere in our politics,” JDCA said last year after JI’s report. “Under any and all circumstances, it must be unacceptable to glorify Nazis or Nazism. Period.”

Platner’s hostile approach to Israel and demonization of AIPAC have also faced scrutiny among mainstream Jewish leaders at the state and national levels. 

He has repeatedly accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and called for blocking U.S. aid to the Jewish state. In a past Reddit post recently uncovered by JI, the Marine veteran voiced admiration for Hamas’ tactics in a violent raid into Israel in 2014.

JDCA’s reservations over Platner’s campaign reflect ongoing discomfort among both Democratic and nonpartisan Jewish organizations that are now reckoning with the implications of his popularity in spite of the tattoo and other issues he has weathered.

The Anti-Defamation League as well as Maine’s Jewish federation have also raised concerns about Platner’s tattoo and past comments.

Platner, for his part, has pledged to engage further with the Jewish community, recently hosting a Seder in Maine that included the state chair of J Street, the progressive Israel advocacy group.

A spokesperson for J Street did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday night about whether it would endorse Platner’s campaign.